Tigers Hold Off Allegheny For Early Season NCAC Win

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Wittenberg Tigers re-discovered their long range shooting stroke, hitting 12 three-pointers in 26 attempts to ease past visiting Allegheny 67-63.

As it turned out, the Tigers needed every one of those three-pointers to stave off a determined challenge from the Gators, who dropped to 4-4 overall and 0-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Wittenberg, which improved to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC, had made just 9-of-45 from long distance in back-to-back losses to Wooster and Otterbein.

Interestingly, Wittenberg made nine two-point shots, compared to 12 from distance, and the Tigers shot for a much better percentage on threes – making 27 percent of their two-pointers versus 46 from beyond the arc. On the other hand, Allegheny made just 5-of-24 from three-point range, compared to 19-of-31 inside the arc.

Wittenberg pulled out to double-digit leads late in the first half, only to see the Gators trim the deficit to seven on a buzzer-beater by Devone McLeod. After the Tigers scored the first four points of the second half, Allegheny battled back to within one point on a McLeod jumper at the 3:22 mark and again on a lay-up by Chris Milon at the 1:28 mark.

Three-point shooting earned the headlines, but free throw shooting secured the victory as the Tigers hit 7-of-8 shots from the charity stripe over the final 1:55. For the game, Wittenberg shot 13-of-17 from the free throw line.

Junior Steven Newell (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) hit 5-of-9 three-pointers without attempting a two-point shot. He finished with a game-high 17 points to go along with two rebounds, three steals and three assists.

Junior Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford) added 13 points, two steals and four assists, while junior Scott Masin (New Carlisle, Ohio/Bethel) battled through a physical challenge in the paint to finish with 11 points and eight rebounds, including four at the offensive end. All 10 Wittenberg players who saw action in the game scored at least two points and grabbed at least one rebound.