Prolific Shooting Sends Ohio Northern Past Young Tigers
It's deja vu all over again for the Tiger men's basketball team, as they fell in the home opener against OAC foe Ohio Northern by a 78-62 score. Following a year when Wittenberg started the campaign 1-5 with a difficult non-conference slate, Wittenberg found this year's schedule equally daunting.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It's deja vu all over again for the Tiger men's basketball team, as they fell in the home opener against OAC foe Ohio Northern by a 78-62 score. Following a year when Wittenberg started the campaign 1-5 with a difficult non-conference slate, Wittenberg found this year's schedule equally daunting.
On this night, hot shooting from the Polar Bears doomed the Tigers efforts right from the outset. ONU built a double digit lead late in the first half, compiling 44 points in a 60 percent shooting effort. Junior post Mark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Parkway) tallied all 11 points to keep the Red and White in the game.
In the second half, Wittenberg fell behind further, allowing Northern to an 18-point lead quickly out of the intermission. However, the Tigers rallied to within 10 after three free throws from sophomore guard Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington). A 12-0 run for the Polar Bears changed the entire complexion of the contest, as Kurtis Brown spear-headed the dominant performance with 18 points.
Junior guard David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) found his touch from the floor in the second half, but his 15 points would not be enough for a Tiger rally. Freshman wing Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) scored a career-high 10 points on the night to round out double-figure scorers. ONU finished with a 58 percent clip from the field, including 7-14 shooting from downtown.
The Tigers fall to 1-3 with the loss heading into a tough contest at nationally ranked NAIA scholarship foe Cedarville. The two sides will clash beginning at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at Cedarville.
Written By: Ben Bradley, SID Assistant