Tigers End Season with NCAC Quarterfinal Loss to Denison, 81-75

GRANVILLE, Ohio-- Despite shooting nearly 60 percent from the field Tuesday night, the Wittenberg Tigers men's basketball team found themselves on the wrong end of a six-point game on the road. Wittenberg traveled to Granville, Ohio for a battle of #4 versus #5 in the opening round of the NCAC tournament. The Tigers previously overpowered the Denison Big Red on their home-floor of Livingston Gymnasium earlier this season, but that was not the case Tuesday night. While neither team could seem to pull away from one another, the Tigers were in a position to make a move and take the game down to the final minutes. Led by Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) and his 17 points, the Tigers dropped the close game 81-75. The loss ends the Tigers season at 14-12 overall, and 9-10 in NCAC games. Wittenberg bids farewell to two seniors from the 2015-16 squad; Zach Brashear (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) and Alex Fultz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Glen Este), who together have put in tremendous time and effort to embody the true spirit of what it means to be a Wittenberg Tiger.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• Halfway through the first half, the Tigers found themselves on top by a narrow margin before going down by as many as 10 points with under three minutes remaining in the opening period.
• Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) sent a jump-shot through the bottom of the net with 1:09 remaining in the half to cut the Big Red lead to 36-28, where it would stay come half-time.
• Out of the break, the Tiger offense was firing on all cylinders as Williams brought the Tigers to within two points at 42-40 after splashing home a three-pointer.
• It would not be until the 9:39 mark in the game that the Tigers tied the score back up, as Phillippi made a nice move to the cup to knot things up at 55-55.
• Wittenberg again let Denison go on a run, but would claw all the way back to tie things up again at 73-73 after Chris Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) fought through a foul to nail jumper with 2:30 remaining.
• Sloneker could not convert the and-one free-throw attempt to give the Tigers the lead, following a Denison timeout.
• The final two minutes of the game featured two made three-pointers by the Big Red, putting the lead too far out of reach for Wittenberg as the final score showed 81-75.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Phillippi and Willaims combined for 30 points, while the junior-duo also pulled down a combined nine rebounds.
• The Tigers shot 58.5 percent from the field in the loss, including a 40 percent clip from behind the three-point line.
• Tuesday night's NCAC quarterfinal matchup feature eight ties and four lead changes.

KEY STATS

• In his 20 minutes off the bench, Garrett Dorfman (Durham, North Carolina/Northern Durham) contributed 12 points, including two three-pointers.
• Wittenberg out-rebounded the Big Red 28-25 as well as outscored the home team in the paint, 44-24.
• The Tigers only attempted seven free-throws in Tueday night's loss.