Wittenberg Wins Big One Over Fifth-Ranked Wooster, 72-62

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers know that to reach their ultimate goals in the 2003-04 season, they must first protect their home court, the HPER Center. And for the fourth year in a row, the Tigers did just that with a regular season North Coast Athletic Conference victory over the College of Wooster Fighting Scots, this time upending the fifth-ranked team in the nation, 72-62.

The Tigers did it in a most unconventional fashion, shooting just 38.5 percent from the field and a dreadful 23.8 percent from three-point range, losing the rebounding battle 33-31 and falling behind early against one of the most skilled and deep teams in NCAA Division III this year. But after making just 19-of-40 free throws in a Wednesday night scare at Wabash, the Tigers set a school record by making 27-of-28 free throws, compared to a solid 15-of-20 performance by the visiting Scots. The win, the Tigers' sixth in the last eight meetings between the two teams, improved Wittenberg to 12-3 overall and 6-0 in the NCAC. Wooster, the defending conference regular season and tournament champion, slipped to 12-2 and 5-1 in the conference. The Tigers are now alone atop the standings, while the Scots are tied with Ohio Wesleyan for second place.

In the long and illustrious Wittenberg/Wooster series, which dates back to 1912, the two teams have rarely been separated by more than 10 points, and until the very late going that was again the case on Saturday. The first 20 minutes offered a nip-and-tuck affair with five ties. Wittenberg moved out to a 29-23 lead with 1:52 remaining in the first half, only to have the Scots rally back to take a 30-29 lead, capped off by a pair of Ryan Snyder free throws at the 33-second mark. But a Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Tigers a huge boost of momentum.

In the second half, Wooster managed just two one-point leads, 39-38 at the 13:20 mark and 41-40 at the 12:18 mark. But a Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia)jumper at the 11:36 mark kickstarted a 7-0 Tiger run that gave Wittenberg the lead for good. It stretched out to as much as 11 points on three occasions late in the half as Wittenberg continually drained free throws. Wittenberg made 12-of-12 from the charity stripe inside the final two minutes.

Wittenberg was led by the Walker's 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Sophomore forward Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading) added 13 points and six rebounds. Sophomore center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots despite foul trouble that limited him to 20 minutes of action. Another key to the game was turnovers as Wooster committed 13, while Wittenberg tied a season-low with seven. Senior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) and junior point guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) were the primary ballhandlers, and they combined for 51 minutes of action and zero turnovers.

Wooster picked up a game-high 21 points from center Matt Schlingman, 12 points from senior guard Rodney Mitchell, 11 points from junior forward Blake Mealer and nine points, eight rebounds and four assists from sophomore forward Tom Port.