No. 22 Tigers Drop Season Opener From Great Lakes Invitational

Marietta, OH – The D3Hoops. Com No. 22 Wittenberg men's basketball team began their 2021-22 campaign from the Great Lakes Invitational, hosted by Marietta College. The Tigers took on Hendrix College of the Southern Athletic Association in their first of back-to-back days of competition. Wittenberg fell in the high-scoring battle against the Warriors, 80-78. This was the first meeting between the two sides. Wittenberg is set to faceoff against familiar opponent in La Roche University during day-two of competition. The Tigers defeated the Redhawks in the opening round of the shortened 2020 NCAA DIII Tournament by a final score of 83-66, as the Red and White would continue to advance on to the Sweet 16 before the tournament got called off.

The Tigers begin the season, as one of the final North Coast Athletic Conference teams to start their season, along with the College of Wooster.  

Wittenberg trailed Hendrix 14-8 with just under 14:00 minutes remaining in the first half. The Tiger senior leadership was on display, with seniors James Johnson, Landon Martin and Rashaad Ali-Shakir along with junior Brice Hill posting the first points for the Red and White. Wittenberg kept chomping at the Warriors heels, as Hendrix maintained a 24-18 advantage after a pair of free-throws with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Tigers got a spark in the old-fashioned three-point play from Levi Boettcher, cutting the Hendrix lead to 33-28 with just under five in the first half. Ridge Young cut through the lane on the following possession, as the Tigers found themselves down by three, 33-30. At the half, Wittenberg converted on 14 of 34 from the field and just 4 of 13 from beyond the arc, trailing Hendrix 41-36. The Tigers were led by Johnson in both points and rebounds with 11 buckets and four boards.

After a quick start, knotting things up at 41-41 early in the second half the Tigers were in a tough battle. Taking their first lead of the second half, at 62-60 with just under eight and a half minutes in regulation, Young made his way to the basket for the Tiger bucket. The two sides were trading buckets through backstretch of the second half, Young making the scrappy plays on both offense and defense to keep Wittenberg in the fight. Young finished the night with a team-high 22 points, adding seven rebounds and three assists to his total. Johnson notched his first double-double of the season, finishing with 11 rebounds to go along with his 11 points.

"Obviously disappointed with the result today. I thought we competed and did some good things," said Head Coach Matt Croci, "But too many mistakes in a one possession game."