Fast Start Carries Tigers Past Otterbein 70-46

WESTERVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers found their shooting stroke five games into the 2014-15 season, snapping a four-game losing streak with a dominating 70-46 victory at Otterbein.

The much-needed win gave the Tigers some momentum heading into a week-long break from competition before the 2014-15 home opener against North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Wabash on Wednesday, Dec. 3. Wittenberg improved to 1-4 on the season, while Otterbein dropped to 1-3.

The key to the game was a 17-0 run over the first five minutes for Wittenberg. Thanks to a buzzer-beater by sophomore Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), the Tigers went into the locker room at halftime with the same 17-point cushion.

Otterbein managed to whittle the lead down to 12 in the second half before the Tigers caught fire again and pushed the advantage back out to as many as 28 points down the stretch. The Cardinals were limited to just 23.5 percent shooting from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.

Wittenberg didn't shoot particularly well either, finishing at 39.3 percent, but the Tigers were solid from beyond the three-point arc with a 9-of-19 performance, and from the free throw line at 81.3 percent. The Tigers also took better care of the basketball, committing a season-low eight turnovers.

Sophomore point guard Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) led the Tigers with 16 points as he made 5-of-7 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Williams added 14 points as he hit 6-of-8, including both of his three-point attempts, and he topped the Tigers with eight rebounds. Williams and sophomore Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) dished out four assists each.

Written By: Ryan Maurer