The Wittenberg University men's basketball team sent a few messages last week. The first was that the Tigers are very much alive and kicking at the right time of the season as they walloped Earlham 82-39 on Wednesday in what was expected to be a difficult road test. Then on Saturday, the Tigers let the league-leading College of Wooster Fighting Scots know that they were still a factor in the NCAC regular season race with a 61-55 win at home.
The two wins improved Wittenberg to 12-2 in the conference, one game behind Wooster, with two games to play this week, at Wabash and back home against Denison. Overall, Wittenberg is now 17-5, including 15-3 in games that count toward the weekly regional rankings.
Against Earlham, the Tigers played extremely well in winning by a surprising 43-point margin. The Tigers were never challenged as they jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first four minutes and stretched the advantage to 33-14 by halftime. The Quakers were forced into just 18.5 percent shooting from the field, compared to 52 percent for the Tigers, in the first half. The second half was more of the same as Wittenberg pounded the glass to end up with a 46-29 rebounding advantage and the 82-39 victory on the scoreboard.
Wittenberg was paced by senior center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins), who finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. He was joined in dominating the paint area by senior forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) with 12 points and six boards and freshman center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) with 12 points and 13 rebounds for his first career double-double.
The Tigers limited their turnovers to just 13 in the game, and they finished with a solid 52 percent shooting night from the field and 77 percent shooting night from the free throw line.
On Saturday against fifth-ranked Wooster, the Tigers won an outstanding defensive struggle that typically went right down to the wire. The win kept Wittenberg alive in the NCAC regular season race, although its hopes of pulling off at least a share of a third straight title are still marginal at best.
This game provided the usual theatrics, starting with bruising, physical defensive play in the interior. Wittenberg led by as much as 11 points in the first half and as much as 13 in the second half. Wooster rallied to tie things just once in the entire game, on a three-pointer by Blake Mealer with 2:11 remaining in the second half. But the Tigers scored the final six points, with the go-ahead basket coming with 1:28 remaining on a lay-up by Longley.
Wittenberg, which avenged an 81-64 setback at Wooster on Jan. 22, was led by Longley's 15 points and eight rebounds. Harris finished with 14 points and six rebounds and junior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) chipped in with nine points and six boards. All three of his field goals were first-half three-pointers that helped the Tigers build the 11-point lead.
For his outstanding play during the week, leadership and defensive play against the probable NCAC Player of the Year, Bryan Nelson of Wooster, Longley was named NCAC Player of the Week. He was the first Tiger player all season to garner the weekly award.
Roundup: Tigers Take Two More Wins, Longley Named NCAC Player of the Week
Posted: Feb 18, 2003