MEADVILLE, Pa. - Teams with championship aspirations must find a way to win close games on the road, especially in conference. After losing two games by two points each in the last week and winning another by a single point, the Wittenberg men's basketball team eased their way to a hard-fought 72-64 win at Allegheny on Saturday. In the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams, the Tigers improved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC while Allegheny, which beat Wittenberg in Meadville and in the NCAC Tournament semifinals a year ago, fell to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in the NCAC.

The Tigers jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game, but that advantage quickly evaporated under the pressure of the usual Gators' three-point barrage. Allegheny tied the game late in the first half and trailed by just two points heading the locker room at halftime, and then the Gators took several two-point leads during a hotly contested, back-and-forth second half before the Tigers ended the game on a 13-4 run. That burst, spurred by a pair of free throws by sophomore center Daniel Russ (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) at the 2:36 mark that gave Wittenberg the lead at 61-60, included 9-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe.

Wittenberg shot 47 percent for the game, while Allegheny countered with 49 percent shooting. The Tigers were beaten from three-point range as the Gators drained eight to three for Wittenberg, but the visitors hit 17-of-22 free throws compared to 4-of-6 for the host team. Both teams took impressive care of the basketball, committing just 19 turnovers between them, but Wittenberg held a huge advantage in the rebounding category at 36-24.

The Tigers were led by Russ with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Rod Emmons (South Bend, Ind./John Adams) had his best game of the season with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, and senior forward Peter Walker (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) added 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The key to Walker's success was free throw shooting as he hit 6-of-6 for the game, including 4-of-4 down the stretch.