Wittenberg Claims Hard-Fought Win Over Taylor In Championship Game

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - For the 20th time in 23 tries, the Wittenberg Tigers were not to be denied in their own in-season tournament as they captured a hard-fought 54-47 victory over Taylor University in the championship game of the 2004 Kiwanis-Wittenberg Holiday Classic.

The Tigers, ranked 24th in the nation in NCAA Division III, defeated their second ranked NAIA Division II outfit of the 2004-05 season in improving to 8-2 overall. Wittenberg also beat then-No. 1 ranked Cedarville on Dec. 8, also in the friendly confines of the HPER Center. Taylor, ranked 17th in the Dec. 14 NAIA Division II national poll, dropped to 10-6 overall. The Tigers advanced to the championship game with a 77-47 throttling of Purdue-Calumet in the opening round while Taylor made its way into the title game with a 65-60 victory over Walsh on Wednesday.

After Wittenberg moved out to an 7-2 lead to start the game, Taylor put together an 18-5 run to take a 20-12 lead with 12:14 left in the first half. But Wittenberg battled back, forcing the Trojans into a scoring drough that lasted 8:56 to close the half. During that time, following a thunderous dunk by Taylor's Mike Parsons, the Tigers scored the final nine points of the half to turn a five-point deficit into a four-point halftime lead. It was an advantage the Tigers would never relinquish.

In the second half, the lead shrank to one point on one occasion and two points on several others, but the Tigers always had the answer. It was an odd game statistically, a testament to its physical, defensive nature. Wittenberg won the rebounding battle 26-21 and shot 47 percent from the field, including 11-of-19 in the first half and 6-of-11 from three-point range in the game as a whole. The game essentially came down to free throw shooting as Wittenberg got 14 more opportunities and cashed in nine more times.

Taylor, which shot 62.5 percent from the field in the first half and 41.5 percent for the game, made eight of its first 10 shots, including four three-pointers. But after that, the Trojans made just 9-of-31, thanks in part to foul troubles that plagued post players Doug Bell and Mike Parsons in the second half. Taylor was led by Parsons with 11 points and four rebounds and Will McGinley, who finished with nine points. Bell made the all-tournament team, largely based on his 24-point outing in the semifinals against Walsh.

Wittenberg got a combined 30 points and 11 rebounds from the junior twin towers of Dane Borchers and Daniel Russ. Borchers, the Tournament MVP, finished with 17 points and six boards, while Russ contributed 13 points and five caroms to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. They were joined on the all-tournament squad by senior guard Kenny Molz, who followed up Wednesday's 14-point performance with eight points and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench in the finals.