SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers finished off the 2002-03 regular season with a full head of steam, defeating the visiting Denison Big Red 75-51 to clinch second place in the upcoming North Coast Athletic Conference tournament. The win improved Wittenberg to 19-5 overall and 14-2 in the NCAC, while Denison, which will make a return trip to Springfield on Tuesday for the first round of the conference tourney, fell to 9-16 overall and 7-9 in the NCAC.

Wittenberg never trailed in this one, jumping out to an 8-0 lead and holding onto a double-digit advantage for 33 of the game's 40 minutes. The Tigers worked the lead to 40-18 by halftime and then treaded water through a very even second half to coast to the win. Team statistics featured Wittenberg winning the rebounding battle, but only by a 39-36 margin, and also winning the turnover battle, committing just eight against 12 for the Big Red. The difference in the game was shooting - Wittenberg hit 48 percent from the field, including 42 percent from three-point range, and also made 13-of-18 free throw shots. The Big Red managed just 34 percent from the field, 22 percent from beyond the arc and didn't even attempt a free throw in the entire game.

Wittenberg was led by junior forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier), who had his shooting stroke working en route to a game-high 19 points. Also finishing in double figures on offense was sophomore guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) with 10 points.

Individually, Wittenberg's biggest and best story on Senior Recognition Night was provided by senior forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler), who became the second player this season to reach the 1,000-point plateau for his career. Longley scored 16 points, including 13 in the first half, and became the 26th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Fellow senior B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) reached that mark earlier in the season, and he chipped in with six points and eight rebounds on this night.

Denison was led by 12 points by Tommy Hodgkinson and nine tallies by Clint Shepherd.

The two teams will meet again on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the NCAC Tournament. Denison is the No. 7 seed in the competition, while Wittenberg, the defending NCAC regular season and tournament champion, is the No. 2 seed behind nationally ranked Wooster. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:45 p.m., immediately following the Wittenberg women's game against Oberlin.