No. 7 Tigers Take Down Oberlin In NCAC Opener

No. 7 Tigers Take Down Oberlin In NCAC Opener
December 1, 2018
Box Score

Springfield, Ohio – Jumping out to a 15-point lead by the halfway mark, the No. 7 Wittenberg men's basketball team closed out the Yeomen of Oberlin College 79-66 to open up North Coast Athletic Conference action with a win in their first game on their home floor from Pam Evans Smith Arena on Saturday afternoon. Wittenberg posted a 45 percent field goal mark from the floor. The Tigers took the points where they were given the opportunity, converting on 12 of 14 attempts from the foul line in the first half, and knocking down 18 of 23 in the second half. The Tigers move to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in the NCAC.

Game Breakdown

Wittenberg would hold their largest lead over Oberlin as the first half ticked closer to zero, the Tigers held a 21-point advantage with just over five minutes remaining in the half. The two sides battled back and forth for the opening seven minutes before a 10-point Tiger run gave Wittenberg a 21-11 lead. Wittenberg held a 47-32 advantage of the Yeomen at the break. The Tiger allowed Oberlin to convert on just 11 of 31 attempts from the floor through the first 20-minutes. Wittenberg knocked down 16 of 25 open looks from the field. Mitchell Balser fueled the Wittenberg offense with eight first-half points, adding three rebounds and dishing out one assist. Jordan Pumroy and Connor Seipel each took seven points with them into the break. Seipel would haul in seven rebounds with a blocked shot and an assist, while Pumroy tallied a rebound, an assist and a steal each before the first buzzer. The Tigers fended off the Oberlin counter attack coming out of the break. The Wittenberg defense kept the Yeomen to just 9 of 28 from the floor in the second half, while allowing just 3 of 17 Yeomen looks from beyond the arc to fall. The Tigers would continue to find the hot hand, as Balser would add 11 points in the final 20-minutes.

Who Stood Out

Seipel finished with his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds. James Johnson provided nine points and eight rebounds for the Tigers. The combination of Rashaad Ali-Shakir (8), Landin Martin (7), and Ridge Young (6) provided 21 points off the bench for the Tigers. Jacob Bertemes facilitate the Wittenberg offense with a team-leading six assists, adding three rebound and a steal to go along with his four points.

The Thread

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 7:00 PM when they host the Tigers of DePauw University at Pam Evans Smith Arena.