The Wittenberg men's basketball team is on a roll, and last week provided the best highlights to date. The Tigers, now ranked No. 7 in the nation, won for the 16th and 17th straight times by capturing hard-fought victories over nationally ranked Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan in the last week.
The two wins clinched the Tigers' third North Coast Athletic Conference regular season title in the last four years and their 10th crown since joining the conference in 1989. Wittenberg, which now has four straight 20-win seasons, improved to 21-3 overall and 15-0 in the NCAC and extended its conference regular season win streak to 21 in a row, dating back to Feb. 1, 2003, at Allegheny.
In a highly-charged atmosphere at Wooster on Saturday, the Tigers accomplished one of the tallest of tasks in NCAC men's basketball by winning on the Fighting Scots' home floor. The Tigers slipped past the Scots, 73-62, for the second time in the 2003-04 season.
The first half was an outstanding back-and-forth affair, with Wittenberg coming out on top by halftime, 38-32. Shooting percentage was the difference as the Tigers made 14-of-27 shots for 52 percent, including a blistering 6-of-9 from three-point range for 67 percent. Wooster was 12-of-28 from the field but just 3-of-12 from long range. The sharp-shooting Tigers closed the half with a clutch jumper in the lane by junior guard Kenny Molz (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont).
In the second half, senior forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) drained two clutch three-pointers to key the victory. The first drew the Tigers within one point at the 7:11 mark and the second gave the Tigers what turned out to be an insurmountable 62-57 lead at the 1:43 mark. Other clutch offensive plays were turned in by sophomore center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity), who hit two shots from close range to cap a game-changing seven-point run, Walker on a put-back basket, and sophomore forward Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading), who scored twice in the lane in the late-going.
The Tigers were struggling from the free throw line until it counted most as they hit 11-of-12 shots from the charity stripe in the final three minutes, including a perfect 8-of-8 in the final minute. Wittenberg became just the second team all season to beat the Scots on the boards, claiming a 39-35 advantage. Walker led all scorers and rebounders in the game with 18 points and nine rebounds. Brady finished with 14 points and seven rebound and Russ added 13 points, five boards and two blocked shots. Junior guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) was superb again, finishing with five points, five assists and zero turnovers in 29 minutes at the point.
Pushed into another "gut check" on Wednesday at Ohio Wesleyan, the Tigers did what they had to do, using a 13-4 run in the closing minutes to open up a tight game and earn a hard-fought 60-50 victory.
Ohio Wesleyan led 25-22 at halftime after rallying from an early 6-0 deficit. The second half was back-and-forth until Walker buried a three-pointer that gave the Tigers a 50-46 cushion with 3:35 to go. Wittenberg closed the game on a 13-4 run to sealed the game. Down the stretch, the Tigers hit 8-of-10 free throws, finishing the game an outstanding 19-of-21 from the charity stripe.
Wittenberg was paced offensively by sophomore center Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia), who came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points and add six rebounds. Brady added 14 points and seven rebounds and Walker added 13 points and seven boards.
The Tigers can wrap up the second perfect 16-0 NCAC regular season in school history with a win Saturday against Allegheny. It's Jam the Gym! day at the HPER Center, with spirit groups competing for prizes.