Wittenberg Rallies Past Denison, 67-56
The difference between good teams with potential and great teams with conference championship and national tournament aspirations is often how they react in pressure situations. Facing a deficit late in the second half and struggling with their outside shot, the Wittenberg Tigers rallied to take a 67-56 decision against the host Denison Big Red.
GRANVILLE, Ohio - The difference between good teams with potential and great teams with conference championship and national tournament aspirations is often how they react in pressure situations. Facing a deficit late in the second half and struggling with their outside shot, the Wittenberg Tigers rallied to take a 67-56 decision against the host Denison Big Red.
The win, Wittenberg's 12th straight since a Dec. 10 loss to Otterbein, improved the Tigers to 16-3 overall and 10-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Denison, which lost to Wittenberg, 74-29, in Springfield three weeks ago, dropped to 5-14 overall and 3-7 in the NCAC. The win was the Tigers' 16th straight in the series with Denison and the 52nd Tiger win in the last 53 meetings, dating back to 1969.
The final score wasn't indicative of how close the game really was. The lead changed 13 times and the two teams were tied six times, the last coming at 55-55 with 3:45 remaining. Wittenberg outscored its hosts 14-1 in the final 4:03 and held the Big Red scoreless over the final three minutes. The Tigers tied it at 55 on a pair of free throws by senior forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) and then took the lead on a clutch three-pointer by junior forward Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) with 3:14 remaining. Down the stretch, Wittenberg hit 7-of-8 from the free throw line, including four straight by senior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams).
The Tigers won the rebounding battle, 41-30, but they committed 14 turnovers, compared to just seven by Denison, a season-low for a Wittenberg opponent. Wittenberg hit 45 percent from the field but just 3-of-20 from three-point range. The key was timing - Wittenberg hit its last two treys, first by junior guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) to tie the game at 53-53 late in the game and then the aforementioned bucket by Bucheit that gave the Tigers the lead for good.
Walker led all scorers with 25 points and added eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Sophomore center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) chipped in with seven points and 11 rebounds, including five offensive, and Emmons added eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Denison got a huge game from Tony Julian, who had 19 points, three rebounds and four assists, and also picked up 13 points and six boards from Danny Hodgkinson and 10 points and six boards from Chris Hull.