#5 Wittenberg Rolls #23 Ohio Wesleyan 93-72

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio-- #5 Wittenberg men's basketball led wire-to-wire on Wednesday night against #23 Ohio Wesleyan, as the Tigers defended their home floor with a 21-point victory; 93-72. The Tigers dominated in nearly every facet of the game on Wednesday night, as the red and white returned to Springfield after coming off a double-digit victory at Wooster last Saturday. At 16-0 (9-0), Wittenberg sits all alone atop the North Coast Athletic Conference Standings, as OWU moves to 11-5 (6-3). Wittenberg was led by sophomore guard Jacob Bertemes, who went off for a career high 27 points on 11 of 16 shooting.  

HOW IT HAPPENED: Wittenberg did not waste any time getting going on offense, as the Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first three minutes of action in Springfield. Wittenberg controlled the pace for most of the first half, as the Tigers led 33-17 after a James Johnson jumper with 9:50 remaining in the first half. The Tigers took a 54-40 lead into halftime, as the second half featured stellar passing and more easy buckets for the Tigers. Mitchell Balser put the Tigers up 69-48 with 12:40 remaining in regulation after an uncontested layup at the rim. The 21-point spread stuck for the remainder of the second half, as the Tigers sealed the deal with a 93-72 win. 

WHO STOOD OUT: Bertemes, who put up a career high of 22 against Wooster, outdid himself with 27 points against the Battling Bishops in the win. The sophomore guard was able to get to the rim at will all night, shooting a scorching hot 69% from the field on 11 of 16 shooting. While Bertmes found the bucket more times than not, he also managed to keep his teammates involved all night, dishing out seven assists. Chad Roy aided Bertemes in the scoring department, as the senior post tallied 22 points on nine of 13 shooting while pulling down nine boards. Connor Seipel (16) and Landon Martin (10) also scored in double-figures for Wittenberg. Seipel recorded a double-double adding 11 boards in the winning efforts. In a game that saw the Tigers record 22 assists, seven came at the hands of Bertemes.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: In a track-meet style game, the Battling Bishops and Tigers combined for only 11 fouls, as the game proved to be 40 action-packed, up-and-down minutes. The Tigers shot 59% from the floor in the win, while outrebounding the Battling Bishops 42-23. 64 of Wittenberg's 93 points came in the paint, while OWU continued to try and light it up from three. OWU connected on eight of their 27 three-point attempts, and only managed to total 40 points in the paint. Wittenberg and OWU took care of the basketball, combining for ten turnovers in a clean game, while the Tigers led by as many as 23 in their 16th win of the year.  

KEEPIN' IT 100: Head Coach Matt Croci '94 earned his 100th win as a head coach in Wednesday night's win. The Wittenberg grad has enjoyed a year of great success in his second year at the helm of his alma mater. 34 of those 100 wins have come as a Tiger, as Croci and his squad continue to climb the national rankings in 2017-18.  

UP NEXT: #5 Wittenberg takes their 16-0 (9-0) record on the road this weekend, as the Tigers make the trek to Allegheny to square off against the Gators on Saturday, January 20. Tip-off from Meadville is set for 2:00 P.M.