SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers got off to a rocky start to the North Coast Athletic Conference season a year ago, losing a double overtime game at Denison while playing without standout wing Kenny Brady. With Brady and the rest of his teammates hitting on all cylinders for most of the day, the Tigers erased those memories with a 70-52 victory over Denison Saturday at the HPER Center.
Wittenberg, now ranked third in the nation, moved to 5-0 on the 2005-06 season, heading into a very important early-season week that games at nationally ranked NAIA scholarship foe Cedarville on Tuesday and second-ranked conference arch-rival Wooster on Saturday. Denison dropped to 2-4, just days after losing by 36 at home in the NCAC opener to Wooster and just days before heading to Akron for a game against the NCAA Division I Zips.
The Tigers trailed three different times in the first seven minutes of the game before taking the lead for good on a three-pointer by senior wing Phil Steffes at the 15:18 mark of the first half. That sparked a 15-2 run that eventually led to a 12-point halftime advantage. Denison was unable to get the deficit under 10 points in the second half, with the lead reaching 24 points with just over four minutes left on two free throws by Steffes.
Wittenberg displayed tremendous balance again in the win, something that has been a real key so far in the 2005-06 season. Despite the presence of three of the most talented post players in all of NCAA Division III, the Tigers are spreading the wealth, getting contributions from numerous players.
In the final stats, freshman wing D.J. Corbett is the one who stands out after he hit for 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. Junior wing Billy Bowen continues to make positive contributions as well, chipping in with 22 effective minutes that included nine points (on 3-of-3 shooting from three-point range), six rebounds and three steals.
The usual suspects led the way for Wittenberg, however, as 2005 NCAC Player of the Year Daniel Russ finished with 16 points, four rebounds, two blocked shots and four assists. Senior post Dane Borchers had his best game so far this season with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.
Two-time first-team All-NCAC post Dan Hodgkinson showed why he is a special player, battling the Tiger post players well in finishing with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor.