No. 5 Tigers Celebrate Senior Day With Win Over Hiram

Springfield, OH- It was Senior Day at Pam Evans Smith Arena for the Wittenberg University men's basketball team. Before the game, the five seniors Jordan Pumroy, Jake Bertemes, Mark Fair III, Tanner Cowgill, and Connor Seipel were honored for the hard work and dedication to the Tiger basketball program throughout their journey at Wittenberg. As the action got started, the Tiger senior class would take the floor together end the day capturing their 93^rd win as a unit, defeating the Hiram College Terriers in the regular-season finale, 93-65. Wittenberg held the Terrier offense to shooting under 40 percent from the floor on the day, while the Tigers knocked down 36 of 80 attempts from the floor. Wittenberg finished with three players posting double-digits, led by Bertemes with 22 points, along with a team-high five assists. Seipel posted his 15^th double-double of the season, grabbing a team-high 15 rebounds while adding 17 points. Seipel would tally three steals and two assists to his total on the day.

Game Breakdown

It was a close battle through the early going, as the Tigers fought to separate themselves from the Terriers in the scoring column. A made lay-up from Seipel followed by a three from Pumroy off the assist from Bertemes would give the Tigers their first lead of the game at 8-7 with 17:00 remaining in the half. The two sides continued their back and forth battle with Wittenberg holding onto the advantage at 15-11 coming off the Bertemes made triple. Levi Boettcher stepped into the game and knocked down his first three, giving Wittenberg their first double-digit advantage with just over 11-minutes in the half at 27-15. Wittenberg fought off a late Hiram attack in the first half, as the Terriers brought the game to back within four at 29-25. Wittenberg put in three buckets within the final 90 seconds, including a James Johnson three-pointer at the buzzer to give Wittenberg the 44-39 advantage at the half. Wittenberg shot 40 percent from the floor in the first half, assisting on 8 of 19 made baskets.

Wittenberg would keep their foot on the gas in the second half, knocking down 17 of 33 from the floor in the final 20-minutes. With 10:05 left in the half, Johnson put up another 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead 68-49. Bertemes followed up with a turnaround jumper to push the Tigers further ahead. The Tiger senior class would make one more appearance together on the floor in the final moments of the game, with Wittenberg hold an 80-49 lead over the Terriers. Wittenberg continued to pull away from the Terriers, sealing their 24^th win over the season at 93-65.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will get set to host Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 8:00 PM in the first round of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.