Top-Seeded Denison Defeats Tigers In NCAC Tourney Semis

GRANVILLE, OH - The Wittenberg Tigers saw a tremendously successful 2025-26 season come to an end in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament semifinals with a 75-61 loss to Denison.

The Tigers and Big Red had split their two match-ups during the regular season, with each team winning on its home floor. That trend held up in the postseason as well, with Denison, the NCAC regular season champion, leading wire-to-wire to advance to the tournament title game against third-seeded John Carroll on Saturday, Feb. 28. That game will also take place on the Big Red's home floor as well.

The loss capped a turnaround campaign for the Tigers at 18-9 overall after finishing fourth in the NCAC regular season standings with a 10-6 record. Wittenberg doubled its win total from the 2024-25 season.

Over the opening 10 minutes, Denison slowly stretched an early lead to double digits, and by halftime the Big Red held a commanding 38-21 advantage. Over the final 20 minutes, the Tigers managed to get no closer than nine points.

Freshman Noah Frayer (Odenton, MD / SPIRE Academy) led the way for the Tigers with 19 points. He was joined in double figures offensively by Tyler Galluch (Springfield, OH / Catholic Central) with 12 points and freshman Jace Wardlow (Bowling Green, KY / Bowling Green) with 10 points off the bench. Galluch and Dawson Scott (New Castle, IN / New Castle) led the way in rebounds with seven apiece.

As a team, Wittenberg shot 36% in the game, including just 4-of-18 from three-point range, and the Tigers won the rebounding battle, 37-34. Wittenberg took good care of the basketball, committing just eight turnovers, but Denison's superior ball-handling may well have been the key to the game as the Big Red committed just three turnovers in the contest.

Written By: Ryan Maurer