Wittenberg Bombs Away in Road Win Over Urbana 80-57

URBANA, Ohio - On a cold winter's night in Urbana, the Wittenberg Tigers finally warmed up from three-point range, hitting 14-of-18 treys in a first-half explosion en route to an 80-59 victory over the host Blue Knights, an NAIA scholarship program. The win improved Wittenberg to 5-3 overall on the 2003-04 season, and perhaps helped the team get back on track after a disappointing performance last time out against Otterbein. Urbana fell to 3-10 overall.

After the Blue Knights scored the first five points of the game, Wittenberg heated up, arguably for the first time all season. Junior wing Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) got things going with a three-pointer with 18:28 remaining in the first half and senior forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) nailed a triple two minutes later to give Wittenberg the lead for good, as it turned out. The Tigers scored 18 unanswered points in that run, and then turned the game into a rout with an 11-point run later in the half, which was capped by another Walker three-pointer that made the score 37-13.

In the second half, Urbana made several rallies but could get no closer than 19 points after trailing 58-30 at halftime. The key to the first half offensive explosion was a 14-for-18 shooting performance by the Tigers from three-point range - this from a team that came into the game shooting just .275 from beyond the arc. Six different players got in the act during the long-range shooting barrage, making it all the more impressive.

For the game, Wittenberg finished with a 48 percent shooting percentage from the field (after making 70 percent in the first half), and after making just 1-of-10 in the second half from three-point land, the Tigers wound up with a 54 percent shooting percentage. The Tigers won the rebounding battle, 40-37, and both teams committed a relatively modest 12 turnovers.

Individually, the Tigers put four players in double figures, including sophomore forward Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading), who had his best game as a collegian. Brady, making his first start of the season, finished with 12 points, a career-high nine assists and a career-high seven rebounds. He came into the game with five assists and 12 rebounds in the first seven games of the season. Sophomore center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) took game scoring honors with 15 points, and he added seven rebounds. Walker added 13 points and senior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) drilled all four of his first half three-point attempts to finish with 12 points.