First Half Offensive Explosion Leads to Win Over Rival, Wooster

SPRINGFIELD, OH - The Tigers hosted conference rival Wooster in a renewal of one of the best rivalries in small college sports, and despite missing production from their top two scorers, Wittenberg came out on fire and kept up the offensive barrage throughout the game to pull away for a stunning 78-53 win and stay undefeated in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 10-2 (3-0 NCAC) on the season, while Wooster falls to 4-9 (1-3 NCAC). The Wittenberg win was the second straight in the series that stretches back more than a century and includes 132 all-time meetings.

The Tigers only trailed in the game for just under a minute, as the Fighting Scots scored first, but the Tigers answered with a three from Kyle Kenney (Centerville, OH / Centerville). After his first three, Kenney made two more on the next two trips down the court and Noah Frayer (Odenton, MD / SPIRE Academy) hit another to make it four straight. Before Wooster could score again, the Tigers had put together a 14-0 run to hold a 12-point lead only four minutes into the game. Carson Gutmann (Springboro, OH / Springboro) provided an offensive spark off the bench in the first half as well, scoring seven points, hitting a three and going 3-for-4 from the field. At the end of the first half, Kenney led the Tigers with 13 points in the first half, just two away from his career high of 15 against John Carroll earlier this season.

Going into the seond half with a 24-point lead, the Tigers continued to score and never let the Fighting Scots any closer than 19 points. Frayer and Kenney each had another strong second half, both with double figures scoring.

Prior to tip-off, Wittenberg paid respect to former assistant coach from 2002-07, Artie Taylor, father of current Tiger basketball player AJ Taylor (Worthington, OH / Wellington), who passed away last month. Fittingly, to close out the game, Taylor was subbed into the game with 46 seconds left, and freshman Louie Collopy (Fort Thomas, KY / Newport Central Catholic) found him wide open at the top of the key to hit a three that sent the crowd into a frenzy to make the final score 78-53 to tie their largest margin of victory of the season at 25.

Team Leaders

• Kenney led the team with a career-high 24 points and Frayer dropped another 16. Dawson Scott (New Castle, IN / New Castle) scored 12 to make him the final Tiger in double figures.
• Scott logged his second double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. Frayer also paced the team in assists with five, while Kenney and Cal Bavineau (Dexter, MI / Dexter) had three apeice.
• Frayer and Kenney also led the team in steals, both pilfering the ball twice each.

Team Comparison

• The Tigers shot 26-56 (46.4%) from the field, 11-22 (50%) from three and 15-21 (71.4%) from the charity stripe. They also logged 34 rebounds, 14 assists while only turning the ball over eight times. The Tigers put up 22 points off turnovers, 10 from second chances, 26 in the paint and the bench put up 26 points.
• The Fighting Scots shot 19-45 (42.2%) overall, were 0-9 from deep and 15-25 (60%) from the line. They pulled down 27 rebounds, added three assists but turned the ball over 14 times. Wooster scored only six points off turnovers, had nine second-chance points and put up 38 points in the paint as their bench scored 22.

Next Up

The Tigers take on DePauw in Greencastle, Indiana, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7, to try to stay undefeated in conference play.

Written By: Grant Martin