Roundup: Tigers Head Into Christmas Break On A Positive Note
The Wittenberg men's basketball team has had its ups and downs through the early part of the 2004-05 schedule, but the good news is that the Tigers are heading into the Christmas holiday break on a positive note.
The Wittenberg men's basketball team has had its ups and downs through the early part of the 2004-05 schedule, but the good news is that the Tigers are heading into the Christmas holiday break on a positive note.
Wittenberg wrapped up the early portion of the season with a 67-62 road win over perennial powerhouse Ohio Northern on Tuesday night. The win improved the 24th-ranked Tigers to 6-2 overall, and it was Wittenberg's first win on Ohio Northern's home court this century after a pair of 20-point losses in 2001 and 2002.
After leading by as many as nine points in the first half, the Tigers fell behind by five points in the second half, thanks to a 19-9 Ohio Northern run. Wittenberg responded with a clutch 8-0 run, however, as junior post Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) buried the game-tying three-pointer and senior wing Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) put Wittenberg in front to stay with a triple on the ensuing possession with just over seven minutes to play.
The lead was narrowed to one point in the waning moments, but late baskets by junior guard Phil Steffes (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) and Bucheit kept the Tigers on top. Russ finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, his second double-double of the season, junior post Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) concluded his night with 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Bucheit chipped in 10 points.
The win over Ohio Northern offered some small consolation for a surprising defeat 10 days earlier at Denison. For the first time since 1997 and just the second time in the last 65 meetings, the Big Red defeated the Tigers, breaking a 17-game losing streak with an 89-79 double-overtime win.
Wittenberg led by as much as 11 in the first half before the Big Red put together a 20-8 run going into the locker room at halftime, capped by a long three-pointer just before the buzzer. In the second half, the Tigers had to put together a furious rally in the closing minutes to force overtime, coming from seven points down on a three-pointer by senior guard Kenny Molz (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), an offensive rebound and putback by senior guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) and a clutch trey by Bucheit with eight seconds remaining.
A turnover with 42 seconds left in the first overtime and the Tigers leading by one may have been the key play of the game, forcing Borchers to hit a game-tying jumper with 22 seconds left. But in the second overtime period, Borchers became the third Tiger post player to foul out of the game, and from that point Denison outscored the visitors 11-1.
Wittenberg was led by Borchers with 18 points and nine rebounds and Russ with 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field in just 18 foul-plagued minutes. Brywczynski added 12 points and five assists, and Bucheit contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. The Tigers attempted 30 more shots in the game, thanks to a three-rebound advantage (including 18 offensive caroms) and an 11-foul differential, which led to 31-of-37 from the foul line for Denison.
That loss came on the heels of a 77-68 home victory on Dec. 8 over neighboring rival Cedarville, the No. 1 ranked team in NAIA Division II at the time. After losing to the Yellow Jackets by a combined total of three points the last two years, this time the Tigers played suffocating defense to keep the high-octane Yellow Jackets in check.
Wittenberg responded to a 15-2 Cedarville run midway through the second half with a 15-2 run of its own, keyed largely by fine defense that forced three missed shots and two turnovers. Down the stretch, Wittenberg made 8-of-10 free throws to seal the win.
Russ led with 23 points, four rebounds, two blocked shots and three steals, and Bucheit enjoyed his best offensive game in two years as he threw down 21 points. Borchers turned in the best stat line with 22 points, nine rebounds, three assists and six blocked shots, one of the highest blocks totals in the decade-plus since 1991 NCAA Division III Player of the Year Brad Baldridge posted his school-record 10.
To round things out, the Tigers played perhaps their most complete game on Dec. 4 as they opened defense of their 2004 NCAC championship with an 83-54 demolition of visiting Allegheny. Wittenberg sprinted out of the gate and effectively ended things early, stretching the lead to 26-8 with four minutes remaining in the first half and 36-14 by intermission. Borchers led all scorers with a career-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds and two blocked shots, and Russ dropped in 13 points, including three dunks, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Also reaching double figures was sophomore wing Brandan Barabino (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit), who scored 11 points in just five minutes of action off the bench.
The Tigers return to action on Dec. 29-30 when they host the Kiwanis-Wittenberg Holiday Classic. They will be joined by NAIA scholarship programs Purdue-Calumet, Taylor and Walsh. The latter two teams are both nationally ranked at present.