Roundup: Tigers Keep Moving After Hard Fought Battle Against Wooster
The Wittenberg men's basketball team has locked up second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference, but naturally the Tigers have much higher goals they hope to attain before the clock runs out on the 2005-06 season.
The Wittenberg men's basketball team has locked up second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference, but naturally the Tigers have much higher goals they hope to attain before the clock runs out on the 2005-06 season.
The Tigers fell from the No. 1 ranking in the nation on Feb. 4 with an 86-77 setback at home against second-ranked Wooster. The game was the first between the top two ranked teams in the nation in Springfield since Wittenberg and Otterbein squared off in 1984. That game also ended in a nine-point loss for the top-ranked Tigers.
The loss to Wooster assured the Scots, who now have a pair of wins over the Tigers this year, of a first place finish in the NCAC regular season title chase. Wittenberg is now 21-2 overall and 12-2 in the NCAC heading into a final week that includes a tough road game against Wabash on Wednesday and a Senior Day showdown back at the HPER Center against Allegheny.
The Tigers, who picked up 22 points apiece from senior posts Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) and Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) in the loss to Wooster, rebounded nicely with road wins over Ohio Wesleyan and Hiram last week. Against the Battling Bishops, Russ was the story, scoring the Tigers' first 11 points of the game en route to one of the finest statistical performances of his career with 24 points, nine rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists. He added 14 points and six rebounds on Saturday against Hiram and claimed NCAC Player of the Week honors as a result.
The Tigers have great balance almost every game, but one development to watch in the last week has been the emergence of reserve freshman guard Gregg Hill (Redford, Mich./Union) as an offensive presence. Hill came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points in the win over OWU, and he followed that up with 10 points against Hiram. Key for a point guard playing more than 20 minutes per game, Hill also finished the week with five assists and just two turnovers.