Tiger Men’s Basketball Defeats Ohio Wesleyan in NCAC Opener, 69-50

DELAWARE, OH – Wittenberg's men's basketball team pulled away early from Ohio Wesleyan on the road to capture its first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at Branch Rickey Arena. 

The Tigers got 35 points off the bench en route to the 69-50 win, it's sixth in a row to improve to 6-1 on the season and now 1-0 in the NCAC. Ohio Wesleyan drops to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Only a back-and-forth battle for the first few minutes of the game, Ohio Wesleyan enjoyed its last lead of the game at 10-9 at the 13:55 mark of the first half before Wittenberg would take control for good and not look back. The Tigers went on an 8-0 run to take a 17-10 lead and outscored them 25-13 down the stretch to go up 35-23 at the intermission. 

A game with only three early ties and one lead change, Wittenberg continued to build on its advantage in the second half, outscoring the Battling Bishops 34-27 with its largest margin of 21 coming with just 4:14 remaining at 67-46. Wittenberg also capitalized on the Battling Bishops' 16 turnovers, scoring 27 points off the miscues. Witt committed only nine turnovers.

Four players scored in double digits for Wittenberg, with Tyler Galluch (Springfield, OH/Catholic Central) popping in 12. Noah Frayer (Odenton, MD / SPIRE Academy) and Kyle Kenney (Centerville, OH / Centerville) each tossed in 11, and Spence Davidson (Lebanon, OH / Lebanon) added 10. Eddie Brown (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy Orange) led the team in rebounds and assists with 12 and five, respectively. Kenney led the team in steals with three.

Wittenberg was 23-for-52 (44.2 percent) from the field and had 32 rebounds, 17 assists, 10 steals, and four blocks. Ohio Wesleyan was 21-for-55 (38.2 percent) from the field, pulled down 35 rebounds, had eight assists, three blocks, and eight steals. The Tigers got 35 points off the bench to just 11 for Ohio Wesleyan. Last season, Wittenberg lost to Ohio Wesleyan twice with the second one ending in a heartbreaker in overtime on Jan. 25, 2025, 71-70.

Senior Cal Bavineau (Dexter, MI / Dexter) scored two points in the game to give him 100 points in his career at Witt.

Next up, Wittenberg will host John Carroll in another NCAC battle on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m. at Pam Evans Smith Arena, part of the Health, Wellness & Athletics Complex.

Written By: Cindy Holbrook