Tigers Rally Past Ohio Wesleyan To Maintain Grip On First Place
It took nearly 20 minutes, but the Wittenberg Tigers finally roared to life. Senior Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) drained three straight three-pointers in the closing moments of the first half, setting the stage for a dominating second half that resulted in a 66-58 victory over Ohio Wesleyan.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
34 | 24 | 58 |
|
|
27 | 39 | 66 |
Team Stats
Ohio Wesleyan
| Game Statistics | Ohio Wesleyan | Wittenberg |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (20-68) | (20-48) |
| Field Goal % | 29.4% | 41.7% |
| Rebounds | 39 | 42 |
| Assists | 4 | 9 |
| Turnovers | 7 | 15 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 18 | 4 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 15 | 9 |
| Bench Pts | 10 | 15 |
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — It took nearly 20 minutes, but the Wittenberg Tigers finally roared to life. Senior Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) drained three straight three-pointers in the closing moments of the first half, setting the stage for a dominating second half that resulted in a 66-58 victory over Ohio Wesleyan.
The win, Wittenberg's second over Ohio Wesleyan during the 2011-12 season, further solidified the Tigers' grip on the top spot in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season title chase. Wittenberg is now 16-4 overall and 10-1 in the NCAC, two games ahead of defending champion Wooster and three games clear of the Battling Bishops and Wabash with five to play.
Through the first four minutes, Wittenberg held a slim 7-6 advantage before someone put a lid on the Tigers' basket. Over the next 12 minutes, Ohio Wesleyan put together a 22-4 run to seemingly take control of the game at 28-11 with 4:38 left before halftime. Over the next two minutes, the Tigers hit four straight free throw throws and a short jumper by senior Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) before McKee heated up, hitting three in a row from long distance to close the margin to 34-27 at the intermission.
After shooting 34.6 percent from the field in the first half, the Tigers found their shooting stroke at the other end in the second half. Ohio Wesleyan, which made just two of its last nine shots to cool off to 39.4 from the field over the first 20 minutes, proceeded to go ice-cold in the second half. The Battling Bishops made just 7-of-35 shots, while Wittenberg hit 50 percent.
The Tigers struggled to put the game out of reach, however, after Cooper's three-pointer at the 10:43 mark gave Wittenberg a lead it would not relinquish. The Battling Bishops were as close as one point inside of seven minutes, but the Tigers answered every Ohio Wesleyan charge, closing it out with four straight free throws sophomore Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford) in the final 30 seconds.
Senior Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) led the Tigers with 18 points to go along with nine rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Cooper added 13 points, seven boards and four assists, and Leahy contributed 11 points off the bench. McKee and senior Alex Brandt (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) rounded out the balanced Tigers' attack with 10 points apiece.