Basketball Teams Host Kiwanis-Wittenberg Holiday Classic Dec. 29-30

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg University men's and women's basketball teams welcome an outstanding field of eight teams for the 2004 Kiwanis-Wittenberg Holiday Classic. This year's competition is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 29, and Thursday, Dec. 30, at Wittenberg's HPER Center. Games for both days are scheduled for 1, 3, 6 and 8 p.m.

Men's tournament participants for 2004 include Purdue University-Calumet from Hammond, Ind., Taylor University from Upland, Ind., Walsh University from North Canton, Ohio, and Wittenberg. Action gets under way Wednesday at 6 p.m. as Taylor and Walsh square off, followed by a clash between the host Tigers and Purdue-Calumet at 8 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. On Thursday, the consolation game is slated for 3 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's consolation game, and the championship contest is slated for 8 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the women's championship game.

Wittenberg has won 18 of the 21 title games in the tournament's history, with the lone exceptions being in 1986 against Centre College, 1997 against the University of Chicago and 2002 against Ohio Dominican University. Last year, the Tigers defeated Washington University (Mo.) in the championship game.

The men's tournament includes three top-quality NAIA scholarship programs and the 24th-ranked Wittenberg Tigers, making for a spectacular field. The wild card appears to be the Tigers' first-round opponent, Purdue-Calumet, which enters with a 5-9 overall record and a new head coach, Mike Jones. He took the reins on Dec. 22 for Gary Hayes, who led the Peregrines to a 19-13 overall record a year ago. Wittenberg is 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, and the Tigers are coming off a solid road victory over perennial powerhouse Ohio Northern on Dec. 21.

Taylor is 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the Mid-Central Conference so far in the 2004-05 season, and the Trojans were ranked 17th in the Dec. 14 NAIA Division II poll. Walsh, led by former University of Cincinnati standout Robert Whaley and former College of Wooster letterwinner Randy Sistrunk, are 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the American Mid-East Conference and were ranked 23rd in the Dec. 14 NAIA Division II poll.

Women's tournament participants for 2004 include Centre College from Danville, Ky., Buffalo (N.Y.) State College, Hanover (Ind.) College, and Wittenberg. Action gets under way Wednesday at 1 p.m. as Hanover and Buffalo State square off, followed by a game between the host Tigers and Centre at 3 p.m. or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. On Saturday, action opens with the consolation game at 1 p.m. and the championship game at 6 p.m. Wittenberg has won nine of the 18 title games in the women's tournament history, although the Tigers have fallen in the final four of the last five years, including 2003 when nationally ranked Hope took the top prize.

The women's tournament includes several struggling teams that are traditionally strong and figure to get better as the season goes along, starting with the host Tigers. With a roster that includes just two seniors and one returning starter from the 2003-04 team that advanced to the NCAA Division III Round of 16, Wittenberg is off to an uncharacteristic 3-5 start, including a 1-1 mark in the NCAC. The Tigers' first-round opponent, Centre, is 2-7 overall and 0-2 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and hasn't played a game since Dec. 11. The Colonels have six NCAA Division III Tournament appearances since 1990.

Hanover is 6-3 overall and one of the favorites in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2004-05, although the Panthers lost two of three games on a West Coast swing just before Christmas. The Panthers will face a Buffalo State squad that is just 2-4 to start the season and hasn't played since Dec. 4. Historically, Buffalo State fields a strong program that has been in the thick of almost every State University of New York Athletic Conference title chase in the last decade.

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