Men's Basketball Falls in Overtime to Archrival Wooster, 99-86

WOOSTER, Ohio—Despite leading by as many as ten-points late in the second half, the Wittenberg Tigers men's basketball team dropped an overtime thriller to archrival, Wooster 99-86. The long awaited rematch after the Tigers handled Wooster in Springfield a little more than a month ago was as advertised late Saturday night.  Wittenberg had a handle on the game much throughout the second-half, but they could not stop a Fighting Scots late run on the road. In the overtime, Wittenberg fell behind early, as the 13 points loss does not do the Tiger's performance justice. All night, Wittenberg was led by Shane Edwards (Perrsyburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) who finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Aiding Edward's efforts were Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) and his 16 points, as well as Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) who finished with 17 points and nine rebounds to lead all Tigers in both categories. The loss puts Wittenberg at 14-9 on the season, and 9-7 in NCAC play.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• Wittenberg trailed at the break, 42-37, after tying the game up at 24-24 with less than seven minutes remaining in the opening half.
• In the first half, Garrett Dorman (Durham, North Carolina/Northern Durham) netted all nine of his points, going three of five from behind the three-point line.
• In the second half, Chris Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) netted a jump shot at the 15:09 mark to bring the Tigers within two points at 49-51, and on the next trip down the floor, the sophomore was fouled and sent home two free-throws to knot the game at 51-51.  
• Once Sloneker got Wittenberg back into the game, Williams knocked down a three-pointer with the score still knotted at 51 to give the Tigers the lead.
• The next defensive trip down the floor resulted in a Williams rebound who found a wide-open Zach Brashear (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) who banged home a three-pointer to extend the Tiger's lead to 57-51/.
• With only 8:41 remaining in regulation, Edwards sent home a jump shot that put Wittenberg up ten points, 65-55.
• From this point on, Wittenberg fell victim to Wooster clawing back and tying the game up at 73-73 with under two-minutes left to play.
• Wittenberg left regulation all knotted up at 78's, but could not muster up an offensive attack in the overtime, scoring only eight points in the extra period, losing 99-86.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Tigers continued their success on the road shooting the ball, totaling a 50.8 percent margin from the field Saturday night.
• Wooster and Wittenberg proved to be evenly matched in the paint, both teams registering 40 points down low.
• Wooster led by as many as 13, while Wittenberg led by as many as 10 in a game that saw six ties and five lead changes.

KEY STATS

• Edwards', Phillippi's, and Williams' 48 point combined for almost 60-percent of the Tigers points Saturday night.
• Despite leading by as many as they did down the stretch, Wittenberg turned the ball over 17 times in the loss, 10 more than archrival Wooster.

UP NEXT

• Wittenberg returns to action in Springfield, Wednesday, February 17 for senior night. Tip-off is set for 7:30PM.

Written By:Kuris Duggan