Rustad
Harris
It was a script that Hollywood screenwriters would envy. Last Saturday, the Wittenberg University men's and women's basketball teams both concluded their regular seasons in dramatic fashion, wrapping up North Coast Athletic Conference championships with wins over top contenders.
The Tiger men put the wraps on a historic day by taking out archrival Wooster 68-66 on the Scots' home court before 3,200 boisterous fans. The Tigers, who held a slim one-game lead over Wooster coming into the game, rallied from a 12-point second half deficit by going on a late 12-0 run and taking the lead for good with 2:05 remaining on a four-point play by senior guard Greg Rustad (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood). Ranked No. 9 in the nation by Basketball America and No. 11 by d3hoops.com, Wittenberg improved to 22-3 overall and 15-1 in the NCAC and won its second straightregular season conference title.
The week started off with a tough match-up against Earlham, one that the Tigers won with a strong second half. The hard-fought 81-60 victory over the Quakers clinched a share of a share of the NCAC title.
The two teams played a tight first half as Earlham stayed close to Wittenberg by outscoring the host Tigers 24-3 from behind the three-point arc. But in the paint, the Tigers were eating up the Quakers behind the one-two punch of junior forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) and junior center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins).
In the second half, Wittenberg turned up the defensive pressure and continued its frontal assault at the offensive end. The result was 29 percent shooting by the Quakers in the second half and a 41-23 Tiger advantage. Another key stat that contributed to the eventual 21-point margin of victory was Wittenberg's rebounding advantage, a 42-27 difference.
Four players finished in double figures in scoring, led by Harris' 19 points and seven rebounds. Rustad played a fine all-around game with 15 points, six assists and 8-for-8 shooting from the free throw line while committing no turnovers in 26 minutes of action. Longley finished with his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and senior center Brian Gratsch (Madeira, Ohio/Madeira) came off the bench to contribute 10 points and five rebounds in just 17 minutes.
Against Wooster on Saturday, the Tigers once again showed why basketball is a team game and that they have plenty of members who can step up in the clutch.
Gratsch
Wooster led the game by six at intermission and led almost the entire game. But Wittenberg wasn't to be denied as the Tigers won the regular season finale at Wooster for a second straight year. Trailing 50-38 atthe 13:55 mark of the second half, the Tigers slowly began to whittle the lead down. A dunk off a steal by Longley brought the Tiger crowd to itsfeet at the 8:32 mark, but the Scots pushed the lead back out to nine at the 4:23 mark. That's when Wittenberg went on a 12-0 run that included two lay-ups by sophomore forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), a free throw by Longley and then a three-pointer by Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams). Then Rustad took a pass in the corner and was fouled while making a three-pointer with 2:03 remaining and made it a four-point play after making the ensuing foul shot.
That gave Wittenberg its first lead since the 4:08 mark of the first half, a lead that was preserved when freshman guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) stole an inbounds pass with four seconds left. Longley and Harris shared Tiger scoring honors with with 12 points, while Harris added a game-high 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. Emmons chipped in with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, while Rustad wound up with 10 points.
The Tiger men are riding a streak of 46 consecutive non-losing seasons and have now won 29 Ohio Athletic Conference or North Coast Athletic Conferenceregular season titles since 1960, including nine crowns in the 13 years in which the Tigers have competed in the NCAC. Wittenberg is the No. 1seed in the conference tournament and will likely host the conference tournament semifinals and finals this weekend. Tourney action gets underway on Tuesday as eighth-seeded Earlham comes calling at the HPER Center at 7:45 p.m.