Tigers Rally For Unlikely Victory Over Ohio Wesleyan

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers have won nearly 90 percent of their games since moving into what is now known as Pam Evans Smith Arena during the 1982-83 season. Even the most loyal Tiger fan would have great difficulty recalling a more unlikely victory than Wittenberg's 62-60 overtime win over Ohio Wesleyan.

Wittenberg trailed by 22 points early in the second half and by six points in the first minute of the overtime, but the Tigers reached down deep both times to stun the 22-ranked Battling Bishops. The win was ninth-ranked Wittenberg's 10th in a row, allowing the Tigers to keep pace with second-ranked Wooster atop the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standings at 5-0.

Ohio Wesleyan, which defeated Wittenberg twice in the 2012-13 season, fell to 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the NCAC. Wittenberg is now 11-1 overall, with its only loss coming in the second game of the season at then-fifth-ranked Wheaton (Ill.). That game also went to overtime.

The Tigers trailed 13-11 halfway through the opening 20 minutes before Ohio Wesleyan caught fire. The Battling Bishops dominated the final 10 minutes, outscoring Wittenberg 21-12 to take a commanding 11-point lead into the locker room. OWU hit eight of 15 shots from three-point range in the first half while holding the Tigers to 28.6 percent shooting at the other end.

The Battling Bishops actually came out of intermission even hotter. OWU made five of its first six shots in the second half to expand the lead to 45-23 before senior post Scott Masin (New Carlisle, Ohio/Bethel) finally stemmed the tide with a lay-up at the 16-minute mark. Little did anyone in the HPER Center know at the time, but the stage was set for a tremendous rally.

Senior forward Cole Bond (Canton, Ohio/St. Thomas Aquinas) drained a three-pointer at the 3:33 mark to pull the Tigers within one point to cap the comeback. The rest of regulation became a tense free throw shooting contest, with senior guard Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford) tying the game with a foul shot at the 2:05 mark before Masin missed a pair with 1:16 left.

OWU's Taylor Rieger countered with a pair of free throws with 59 seconds left, but Masin drew a foul with 22 seconds left and redeemed himself by knocking both resulting shots down. The Tigers then forced an Ohio Wesleyan turnover and the two teams headed to overtime.

Once again, the Battling Bishops jumped on top, scoring six points in the first 47 seconds. But the Tigers clamped down defensively again, holding OWU scoreless the rest of the way while chipping at the lead with Masin scoring three points and Leahy scoring five, including the go-ahead lay-up at the 1:06 mark.

Wittenberg shot 34.5 percent for the game, compared to 31 percent for the Battling Bishops, who made just one of their last 13 three-point attempts. The Tigers held a 50-41 edge in rebounding.

Individually, Masin posted his 22nd career double-double, including seven in 12 games in the 2013-14 season. He contributed 24 points and 16 rebounds to the cause, including seven caroms at the offensive end. The 16 rebounds were a career-high.

Bond added a career-high 13 points to go along with five rebounds. Junior Sam Collins (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Leahy gutted out a tough shooting night to finish with eight points, six rebounds and five assists.