Tigers Defeat Denison In NCAC Quarterfinals

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers overcame a slow start to take care of business in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals, defeating visiting Denison 83-61.

The Tigers, ranked sixth in the latest national poll, are now 23-3 overall after posting a 13-3 record in the NCAC regular season. The second seed in this year's tournament, Wittenberg will next travel to top-seeded Wooster for a tournament semifinal date with third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan, which beat sixth-seeded Allegheny 106-67 on Tuesday. The Tigers swept the two games against Ohio Wesleyan during the regular season.

The lead changed hands 12 times in the first 14 minutes of the game before the Tigers ended the half with an 18-6 burst, opening up a 42-32 halftime advantage. Wittenberg scored the first six points of the second half and never allowed the margin to fall below 14 the rest of the way. The Tigers ended the game with six straight points to create the 23-point cushion, the largest of the night.

Denison actually outrebounded Wittenberg in the game, collecting 27 boards to the Tigers' 26, and the Big Red became just the third team all season to reach the 60-point plateau against the Tigers, one of the top defensive teams in all of NCAA Division III. But the Big Red were scorched for 64 percent shooting by Wittenberg, including a 17-of-25 performance in the second half.

Leading the charge, as usual, was the senior post tandem of Daniel Russ and Dane Borchers. Russ was nearly automatic at the offensive end, scoring a game-high 27 points to go along with five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. Borchers overcame foul problems to hit 7-of-8 shots from the field and finish with 16 points.

Freshman guard Gregg Hill had the biggest game of his collegiate career, finishing with 16 points to better his previous career high by four. He hit 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Also of note was the 11 points and four steals from freshman wing Tyler Howard.

Denison was paced by 21 points from Shea McMahon and 13 from Jordan Krantz off the bench. Leading scorer Dan Hodgkinson was held to seven points in the loss. The Big Red ended the season with six straight losses and a 10-16 overall record.