Tigers Stumble at Home To Kenyon, 67-58

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—After honoring seniors Jay Bond, Zach Brashear, and Alex Fultz, the Tigers faced off against NCAC foe Kenyon College on senior night at Pam Evans Smith Arena. Despite being in control for most of the first half, the Tigers lost the lead at the end of the first half, and had to play catch-up for the rest of the game before eventually falling, 67-58.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• Wittenberg got out to an early lead and was in control on both ends of the floor in the first half before giving up the lead to Kenyon with only 5:00 remaining.
• Once the Tigers lost the lead at 26-25, Kenyon went on a run to go into halftime up 35-28.
• Out of the gates in the second half, Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) and Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) netted a quick five points for the home team to cut the Kenyon lead to 37-33.
• With 15:00 remaining in the game, the Tigers trailed 43-35 after a Chris Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) found his way to the cup for an easy layup.
• It was again Sloneker who found his way to the hoop for another layup, cutting the Lords lead to 52-43 with just under 10:00 remaining.
• Wittenberg began to charge back late as Chad Roy (Toledo, Ohio/Holland Springfield) swiftly made a move to the hoop, connected on a field goal that cut Kenyon's lead to 57-53.
• Senior honoree Brashear banged home a three on the next possession down the floor on an extra pass from Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), cutting the deficit to 59-56 with 3:10 remaining.
• Wittenberg fell victim to back-to-back productive offensive possessions by Kenyon, trailing 63-58 late and eventually falling 67-58 at the final buzzer.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• While the Tigers shot 37.5 percent from the floor, the visiting Lords managed to shoot 56.1 percent from the field in the game.
• Uncharacteristically, Wittenberg was out-rebounded by the visitors, 32-25.
• Wednesday night's game featured five ties and three lead changes.

KEY STATS

• Edwards was all over the court for Wittenberg, netting ten points, pulling down eight boards, dishing out three assists, when it was all said and done.
• Sloneker had a standout performance for the Tigers in the loss, totaling 11 points off the bench.

UP NEXT

• Wittenberg travels to Hiram for their final regular season game of the season Saturday, February 20. Tip off is set for 4:00PM.

Written By: Kuris Duggan