Wittenberg wallops Oberlin to start new year off right

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - At the 10:51 mark of the first half, the visiting Oberlin Yeomen scored on a lay-up to tie the game at 11-11. The next time Oberlin scored a basket, it was at the 18:25 mark of the second half and it made the score 53-13 in favor of two-time defending North Coast Athletic Conference regular season champion Wittenberg University. In between, Wittenberg outscored the Yeomen 42-0.

That was the ball game in a nutshell. The Tigers took some time to find the right gear, but once overdrive was established, the game was blowout. Wittenberg was led by junior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) and his 16 points, sophomore forward Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) and his 13 points, junior forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) and his 12 points and freshman forward Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading) and his 10 points in just nine minutes off the bench.

The Tigers held a commanding 39-22 advantage on the boards and forced 26 Oberlin turnovers. The Yeomen managed just 11 points the entire first half and shot just 31.3 percent from the field, although they did end up 12-of-12 from the free throw line, with all of the attempts coming in the second half.

Wittenberg, which outscored Oberlin 48-0 in points off the bench, improved to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the NCAC with the victory. Oberlin dropped to 0-9 overall and 0-2 in the NCAC.