Wittenberg's Daniel Russ goes up for a shot against Wooster's Tom Port during an 86-77 Scots win in the HPER Center.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — For the first time in more than 20 years, Wittenberg's HPER Center played host to a match-up of the top two ranked teams in the nation, and just like Jan. 11, 1984, the host Tigers lost. The opponent in 1984 was second-ranked Otterbein, and the Cardinals escaped with an 11-point win. The foe in 2006 was arch-rival Wooster, with the result being an 86-77 triumph for the second-ranked Scots.
It was the first match-up of its kind anywhere in NCAA Division III since the start of the d3hoops.com national weekly poll in 1999. The loss, Wittenberg's second of the 2005-06 season against Wooster, dropped the Tigers to 19-2 overall and, more importantly, 10-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Scots, who have now won in the HPER Center three straight times in the last three seasons, improved to 20-1 overall and 12-0 in the NCAC. Wooster almost assuredly will ascend to the No. 1 ranking when the new poll is released on Monday.
This was another outstanding game in a rivalry that has been full of them in recent years. Wooster drew first blood, getting eight straight points from guard James Cooper after Wittenberg took a 5-0 lead to start the game, and then the Scots turned up the offensive pressure. Playing before a raucous, sellout crowd (general admission tickets were snapped up in 40 minutes at a noon presale in Wittenberg's lobby), the Scots were red hot throughout the opening 20 minutes, moving out to a commanding 49-40 halftime advantage thanks to 67 percent shooting from the field, including an unbelievable 9-of-12 performance from three-point range.
The best defensive team in all of NCAA Division III, allowing just 52.7 points per game coming in, Wittenberg predictably clamped down in the second half. Resorting to some unusual defensive match-ups, including putting 6-foot-9 post Daniel Russ on the 6-foot-1 Cooper for portions of the final 20 minutes, the Tigers forced the Scots into more human shooting percentages in the second half. But offensively, every Wittenberg run was thwarted at the most inopportune time, and the lead never went below four points.
The game was played a tremendously high level, as evidenced by the final statistics. The Tigers shot 60 percent in the first half and 52 percent for the game, they won the battle of the boards 30-25, including 10 offensive caroms, and the turnover battle was almost dead even with a puny 19 between the two teams. The game was won by Wooster with torrid shooting, including 56 percent from the field, 52 percent from three-point range (after starting the game 12-of-15) and 89 percent from the free throw line. The Tigers weren't bad offensively either, but they made six less three-pointers and nine less free throws to account for the final difference in the game.
Wooster, which all but clinched a second consecutive NCAC regular season title with the win, picked up a game-high 24 points from Cooper, who also had the game-winning three-pointer in an 86-83 win over Wittenberg back on Dec. 10. Five Scots reached double figures offensively, including Tom Port with 13, Tim Vandervaart with 12 and Andy Van Horn, who was 3-of-3 on three-point attempts, and Brandon Johnson, who was 8-of-8 on free throws, with 11 points apiece.
Wittenberg, which will now likely have to hope to duplicate last year's road to the NCAA Division III Tournament with an NCAC Tournament win at Wooster in three weeks, picked up 22 points each from senior posts Dane Borchers and Daniel Russ. They were a combined 19-of-31 shooting from the field, while senior wing Kenny Brady had a solid game as well, finishing with 13 points, three assists and two rebounds. Borchers led all players with 11 rebounds, while Russ added eight. Junior guard Pat Denbow had a fine game as well, chipping in three points, a game-best six assists and no turnovers against intense backcourt pressure.