The Wittenberg men's basketball team has established itself as the team to beat in the North Coast Athletic Conference, thanks in large part to a pair of convincing home victories in the last week over top contenders Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan. The Tigers are now 7-0 in the NCAC, one game ahead of the nationally ranked Scots and two ahead of the Battling Bishops.
After failing to score for the first five minutes of the game and trailing 18-10 at the 10:36 mark of the first half, the Tigers outscored visiting Ohio Wesleyan, 60-31, the rest of the way to stomp the Battling Bishops, 70-49, on Wednesday in Springfield.
The win was Wittenberg's ninth in a row this season, and the Tigers' 99th victory in the 140-game series with Ohio Wesleyan. It was the eighth straight win for Wittenberg in the series and the 47th in the last 48 meetings, dating back to 1978.
The Bishops came out strong, building leads of 7-0, 15-7 and 18-10 over the course of the game's first 10 minutes before the Tigers rallied. A three-pointer by junior Andy Bucheit (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), a lay-up by freshman Jack Hemenway (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) and another triple by Bucheit evened the score at 18-18 with 8:53 remaining. The two teams battled back and forth the rest of the half until Bucheit drained his third three-pointer of the first half with 1:50 remaining to give the Tigers a 30-27 lead. He was fouled on the play and hit that shot as well.
The second half was all Wittenberg. Leading 37-34 at the 16:20 mark, Wittenberg ripped off the next seven points to build a 10-point lead. Then leading 52-44 at the 10:17 mark, the Tigers ended the game with a 18-5 burst.
There were several keys to the game, starting with tremendous three-point shooting for the Tigers. They shot a sizzling 64.7 percent from beyond the arc, a season-best, led by Bucheit, who had a career night with a school record 5-of-5 from three-point range and 7-of-7 from the field overall. Add in 1-of-1 from the free throw line and Bucheit had a 20-point night, just four points shy of his career high. While Bucheit was doing the majority of his damage from the outside, sophomore Kenny Brady (Reading, Ohio/Reading) was opening things up inside with 19 points, 13 in the second half, eight rebounds and three assists. The Tigers are now 9-0 with Brady in the starting lineup.
Another key was turnovers, as in just eight for the Tigers, their second straight game in single digits in that category. Junior point guard Danny Brywczynski (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) was the catalyst, draining two key first-half three-pointers and finishing with just one turnover.
For the fourth year in a row, the Tigers protected their home court in a regular season NCAC game against the College of Wooster, upending the fifth-ranked team in the nation, 72-62, on Saturday.
The Tigers did it in a most unconventional fashion, shooting just 38.5 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from three-point range, losing the rebounding battle 33-31 and falling behind early against one of the most skilled and deep teams in NCAA Division III this year. But after making just 19-of-40 free throws in a Wednesday night scare at Wabash, the Tigers set a school record by making 27-of-28 free throws. The win was the Tigers' sixth in the last eight meetings between the two teams.
In the storied Wittenberg/Wooster series, the two teams have rarely been separated by more than 10 points, and until the very late going that was again the case on Saturday. Wittenberg moved out to a 29-23 lead with 1:52 remaining in the first half, only to have the Scots rally back to take a 30-29 lead with 33 seconds left. But a Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Tigers a huge boost of momentum.
In the second half, Wooster managed just two one-point leads, 39-38 at the 13:20 mark and 41-40 at the 12:18 mark. But a Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) jumper at the 11:36 mark kickstarted a 7-0 Tiger run that gave Wittenberg the lead for good. It stretched out to as much as 11 points on three occasions late in the half. Wittenberg made 12-of-12 from the charity stripe inside the final two minutes.
Wittenberg was led by the Walker's 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half. Brady added 13 points and six rebounds. Sophomore center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) chipped in with 10 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots despite foul trouble that limited him to 20 minutes of action. Another key to the game was turnovers as Wooster committed 13, while Wittenberg tied a season-low with seven. Senior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) and Brywczynski were the primary ballhandlers, and they combined for 51 minutes of action and zero turnovers.
Next up for the Tigers are NCAC games against two young but fast-improving teams, Hiram on Saturday at home and Earlham on Wednesday on the road.