Tiger Hold on to Win Nailbiter

Gambier, OH-The Tigers went in to Gambier to take on the Owls and get back on the right track after their close loss to Denison last time out. It came down to the wire, but Wittenberg was able to pull off the 65-62 win. The win moves the Tigers to 6-9 on the season (2-4 NCAC), while the Owls fell to 3-12 (1-5 NCAC).

Wittenberg started off the game with back-to-back three pointers from Cameron Harrison (Eaton, OH / National Trail) to put the Owls in a six-point hole early. This proved vital for the Tigers as they never trailed throughout the entire first half and went into halftime with the game tied at 34.

In the second half, the teams started off trading buckets, but a layup from Tyler Galluch (Springfield, OH / Catholic Central), followed up by back-to-back threes from Harrison and Cal Bavineau (Dexter, MI / Dexter), stretched the Tiger lead to 10 points. It took the Owls nine minutes to fight back, but with just under seven minutes, they had their first lead of the game 53-51. Another three from Harrison gave the Tigers the lead again, and the teams would continue to trade layups and free throws. With one minute to go, the Tigers were once again down 62-61. Bavineau hit two free throws to put Wittenberg up one and would go on to stifle Kenyon's layup try, where Dawson Scott (New Castle, IN / New Castle) would grab the rebound and convert both free throws to put the Tigers up three. The Owls were able to throw up a prayer, but as the buzzer sounded the ball hit the floor and the Tigers came away with a much-needed 65-62 win.

Harrison led the team with 18 points, and Eddie Brown (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy Orange) also hit double figures with 11 and was second in rebounds with seven. Scott led the team in rebounds with eight and Bavineau paced the team in assists with four, while Galluch and Scott each logged two each.

Despite most of the team stats being very close, Wittenberg had seven threes, compared to Kenyon's five, and the Tigers went 12-of-17 from the free throw line (70.6%), compared to 5-of-10 (50%) for the Owls.

The Tigers will look to start building a win streak as they take on the Oberlin Yeomen next in front of their home fans at Pam Evans Smith Arena on Saturday, January 18, with tip-off scheduled for 4:00 p.m.