#6 Wittenberg Downs Oberlin in First Round of NCAC Tournament

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—#6 Wittenberg men's basketball downed Oberlin 70-54 in the quarterfinals of the NCAC Tournament on Tuesday. This marks the third time this season that the Tigers beat the Yeoman by double digits and move the series record to 82-7. Wittenberg took the lead early on with their first basket and never looked back until the final buzzer. The Tigers now take their 24-2 (16-2) record into the semifinals against Denison, and Oberlin moves to 12-14 (6-12) to wrap up their season.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Wittenberg scored the first basket of the game on a Jordan Pumroy layup with 18:38 left in the first half and did not give up the lead through the entire contest. Oberlin made many valiant attempts to try and overtake the Tigers, bringing the game within four at 17-12 with 11:05 left to play in the opening half. The Tigers took their largest lead of the half after a Chris Sloneker layup gave Wittenberg an 11-point lead with 6:25 remaining. The Yeoman would have an answer though, going on a run to end the half only down two with a score of 33-31. Both teams continually traded baskets to open the second half before the Tigers started to pull away after a Pumroy three-point shot found the bottom of the net to bring the deficit to 13 with a 52-39 score with 11:29 remaining in regulation. Oberlin held their own, battling back within seven before Wittenberg ran away with it as their lead ballooned to 16 on a Chad Roy free throw, before the final buzzer sounded with a final score of 70-54. 

WHO STOOD OUT: Roy (14), Jacob Bertemes (12), and James Johnson (11) all put up double digits in the point column for the Tigers. Wittenberg had a good night on the boards with Johnson corralling eight rebounds in the contest, with Pumroy and Roy close behind both tallying seven. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Wittenberg shot 44% on the night, connecting on 27 of their 61 attempts. The Tigers did a good job of sharing the ball, dishing out 16 assists to the Yeoman's 10. The battle on the boards was also won by Wittenberg as they reeled in 10 more rebounds than Oberlin at 39 to 29.

UP NEXT: Wittenberg hosts the semifinals of the NCAC Tournament, facing off against the Denison Big Red on Friday the 23rd. Tip-off is set for 5:30 P.M. in Pam-Evans Smith Arena.