Wittenberg's Brian Gratsch goes up for a shot over Wooster's Matt Smith during the Tigers' 75-70 win on Saturday.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It was a game the Wittenberg University Tigers simply had to have. And in what can only be called the picture of a total team effort, the Tigers did just that, claiming a hard-fought 75-70 win over the visiting College of Wooster Scots before a season-high crowd of 2,420 at the HPER Center.
Coming off a surprising road defeat at Wabash last Wednesday night, the Tigers did all the things they were unable to do against the Little Giants. They hit the big shots, especially as Wooster made a tremendous charge in the second half, they limited turnovers and they shot 50 percent from three-point range, including a 6-of-11 performance in the second half alone.
With 3:32 remaining in the game, Wooster tied the game on two free throws by junior center Bryan Nelson. Wittenberg sophomore guard Mark Borland came right back and scored on a drive at 3:10 to break the tie. Borland then added four straight free throws to keep the Scots at bay, despite a three-pointer by freshman forward Blake Mealer.
The difference in the game was a 34-13 advantage in points off the bench for Wittenberg. All 10 players who entered the game for Wittenberg scored at least two points, and seven different players had at least eight points in the game. Leading the charge was Borland, who had 12 points and five assists, and sophomore guard Rod Emmons, who had a huge jumper in the final minute as part of his 11 points, four-rebound night. Three players finished with nine points - senior forward Chad Mossing, sophomore forward Peter Walker and senior center Brian Gratsch.
Wooster, which fell to 15-4 overall and 9-1 in the NCAC, was led by Nelson's 24 points and senior guard Antwyan Reynolds' 13 points.
The win improved Wittenberg to 16-3 overall and 9-1 in the NCAC. Next up for the Tigers is another road trip into Indiana, this time at Earlham on Wednesday. All games can be heard on WBLY 1600 AM in Springfield or via the Internet on Wittenberg's Web site.