Roundup: Tigers Suffer First NCAC Loss of the Season
A college sports season can resemble a rollercoaster ride, and that was certainly the case for the Wittenberg men's basketball team last week.
Borland
A college sports season can resemble a rollercoaster ride, and that was certainly the case for the Wittenberg men's basketball team last week. Just one day after breaking into the national top 10 for the first time this season, the Tigers were ambushed by a pumped-up Wabash team and its raucous fans on Wednesday. Returning home for the biggest game of the season,the Tigers put together perhaps their most complete team effort in capturing a crucial victory over arch-rival Wooster on Saturday.
The end result? Wittenberg is back on top of the North Coast Athletic Conference standings, tied with Wooster heading into what promises to bean exciting stretch run. The Tigers are now 16-3 overall and 9-1 in the NCAC, while Wooster is 15-4 and 9-1 in the conference.
On Saturday, in what can only be called the picture of a total team effort, the Tigers claimed a hard-fought 75-70 win over the Scots. Wittenberg is the only team to defeat Wooster in regular season conference play since 1997.
The Tigers hit the big shots, especially as Wooster made a tremendous charge in the second half, they limited turnovers and they shot 50 percent from three-point range, including a 6-of-11 performance in the second half alone. With 3:32 remaining in the game, Wooster tied the game on two free throws. Sophomore guard Mark Borland (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) came right back and scored on a drive at 3:10 to break the tie. Borland then added four straight free throws to keep the Scots at bay, despite a three-pointer.
The difference in the game was a 34-13 advantage in points off the bench for Wittenberg. All 10 players who entered the game for Wittenberg scored at least two points, and seven different players had at least eight points in the game. Leading the charge was Borland, who had 12 points and five assists, and sophomore guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams), who had a huge jumper in the final minute as part of his 11-point, four-rebound night. Three players finished with nine points - senior forward Chad Mossing (Maumee, Ohio/Holland Springfield), sophomore forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) and senior center Brian Gratsch (Madeira, Ohio/Madeira).
That win came on the heels of a disappointing trip to Crawfordsville, Ind. on Wednesday. Against Wabash, it was one of those nights when the big shots just wouldn't fall, the turnovers came at the worst times possible and the underdog host team and its rabid fans were at their best. It all added up to a 77-65 for Wittenberg's first NCAC loss.
Mossing
Wittenberg struggled early before going on a run to tie the game at 17 midway through the first half. But by the time the two teams headed to the locker room, the Tigers were trailing by 12 points, which turned out to be the final surprising margin. Wabash kept the pressure on throughout the game, shooting over 50 percent in both halves, committing just 10 turnovers and putting three players in double figures in scoring.
Leading the statistical charge for Wittenberg was junior forward/center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins), who hit for his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Emmons with 11 points and Gratsch, who had a season-high 10 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
The Tigers return to action on Wednesday with another tough road game, this time at Earlham against the schizophrenic Quakers, who since defeating the No. 3 team in the nation, DePauw on Jan. 4, have won just one game. Then Wittenberg returns home on Saturday to face Allegheny for a 3 p.m. tipoff.