Tigers Open Season On Right Foot Against Clermont
With a 2008-09 season that did not quite measure up to the traditional success of the Wittenberg men's basketball program behind them, the Tigers used a 91-64 win over UC Clermont Tuesday night to make a statement.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - With a 2008-09 season that did not quite measure up to the traditional success of the Wittenberg men's basketball program behind them, the Tigers used a 91-64 win over UC Clermont Tuesday night to make a statement.
Led by 19 points from junior guard Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), the Tigers became just the second North Coast Athletic Conference team to win a game in eight contests since the NCAA Division III season officially started on Sunday. Having won their season and home opener, Wittenberg moves to 1-0 on the brand new 2009-10 campaign.
Jumping out to an 11-point lead before Clermont could find the iron, Wittenberg put the game away early and cruised to a 46-28 lead by halftime. The dominance never faded while the Tigers built their largest lead, 27 points, on the final bucket of the game.
Senior guard Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union) chipped in 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc. Sullivan was just as good from long range, knocking in 4-of-7, on his way to 7-of-11 overall shooting.
Thanks to a significant height advantage over the Cougars, Wittenberg spread the rebounding over many players. Senior guard David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) led the team in rebounds for the first time in his career with seven. Six other players had at least three rebounds. Nowicki also led in the not-so-evenly distributed assists category with eight, while Hill tallied five and an additional five players tallied one each.
For the game, the Tigers shot 48-percent from the field, including 12-of-27 from three-point range and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Clermont was just 38.5-percent from the field.
Wittenberg returns to the hardwood in the Days Inn Tip-Off Tournament at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania on Friday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. On Saturday, the Tigers will face either Messiah or Gettysburg at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.
Written by: John Strawn '07