Tigers Fall in Final Home Game

SPRINGFIELD, OH - For their final home game of the season, the Wittenberg Tigers hosted the Denison Big Red, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) leaders heading into the last week of the regular season and the seventh ranked team in the country. After hanging tough throughout the first half, the Tigers couldn't keep pace late as the Big Red pulled away in the second half en route to a 74-57 win.

The scoring was back-and-forth throughout the first quarter, with no team leading by more than five points. Leading the Tigers in offensive production were Karley Moore (Tipp City, OH / Bethel) and Karsen Karlblom (Crystal Lake, IL / Prairie Ridge) as they both completed a solo 5-0 run at separate points to end the first quarter up on the Big Red, 20-18. It was more of the same until Dension held a 34-29 with only a minute left after going on a 9-2 run earlier in the second quarter. To close out the half, second quarter leading scorer, Molly Mossing (Cedarville, OH / Cedarville), assisted Tiger sharpshooter Karblom for a three to cut the Denison lead to two, 34-32, heading into the locker room.

The first six minutes of the second half, it looked like the game was going to come down to the wire, with both teams continuing to trade buckets and a lead never growing to more than four. However, at that point the Tigers went cold just as the Big Red started to heat up, ending the third quarter on another 9-2 run over the last four minutes to head into the final ten minutes with a 10 point lead, 55-45. Denison opened up the final quarter with back-to-back threes and the Big Red pulled away from there.

Team Leaders

• Three Tigers scored in double figures, led by Mossing with 15, Karlblom with 14 and Moore with 11.
• Myah Johnson (Jeffersonville, IN / Jeffersonville) led the way with seven rebounds off the bench and Mossing grabbed five.
• Mossing and Karlblom shared the lead in assists with three and Moore paced the Tigers with three steals.

Team Comparison

• The Tigers shot 20-46 (43.5%) from the field, 6-14 (42.9%) from deep and 11-17 (64.7%) from the free throw line. They also totaled 30 rebounds, added 12 assists, but turned the ball over 21 times. They scored 18 points off turnovers, only three second chance points and had 22 points in the paint with only nine off the bench.
• The Big Red went 30-62 (48.4%) overall, including 7-16 (43.8%) from three point range and went 7-12 (58.3%) from the line. THey grabbed 28 rebounds and had a 15-12 assists to turnover ratio. They capitalized on 15 points off turnovers and 12 second chance points, combined with 46 points in the paint and 33 points from their bench.

Next up, the Tigers will play their regular season finale at John Carroll as they look to end their season on a positive note against the #10 team in the nation in the Blue Streaks.