Tigers Knock Off DePauw In Overtime

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers came up with the big shots with the game on the line, and the result was a desperately needed 65-56 overtime victory over visiting DePauw.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for the host Tigers. Wittenberg is now 4-10 overall and 2-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), while the visiting Tigers dropped to 10-4 overall and 3-4 in the league.

Wittenberg jumped out to a 17-4 lead to start the game, but DePauw whittled the advantage down to just two points by halftime. The visiting Tigers finally caught the host Tigers on lay-up by Tommy Fernitz with 12:43 remaining, which was answered by a 9-1 Wittenberg run that was capped by a three-pointer from junior Alex Fultz (Batavia, Ohio/Glen Este) at the 7:08 mark of the second half.

DePauw rallied again, eventually taking a 48-47 lead on a Fernitz lay-up with just 54 seconds remaining. Fultz came up big again, however, draining his fourth three-pointer of the game with 39 seconds left to put Wittenberg back in front. Fernitz then tied the game again with 26 seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime.

Wittenberg jumped on top with the first six points of the extra session and held on from there, hitting 8-of-10 free throws over the final 2:19 to secure the victory.

Fultz led Wittenberg with 14 points and seven rebounds in the game, and sophomore Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) added 13 points and three rebounds. Phillippi hit a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

Freshman Chad Roy (Toledo, Ohio/Holland Springfield) contributed 10 points, freshman Troy Mundy (Blacklick, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) chipped in with eight points, and sophomore Landon Hormann (West Liberty, Ohio/Salem) finished with a career-high seven rebounds, all off the bench.

Wittenberg shot 36.5 percent from the floor, while holding DePauw to 32 percent, even with Fernitz's 7-of-11 performance.

Written By: Ryan Maurer