CEDARVILLE, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers proved once again that they have a wide variety of offensive and defensive weapons to get the job done, this time in a 65-59 victory at Cedarville University.
Wittenberg, ranked third in the nation in NCAA Division III, improved to 6-0 on the season heading into a showdown on Saturday against second-ranked North Coast Athletic Conference arch-rival Wooster. Cedarville, ranked fifth in NAIA Division II, dropped to 7-3 overall. It was the second straight season that Wittenberg had defeated a Cedarville team with a national ranking, coming on the heels of two straight Yellow Jackets wins that both came on three-point shots inside the final eight seconds of the game.
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead, thanks to hot three-point shooting that forced the Yellow Jackets to expand their zone defense designed to take leading scorers Daniel Russ and Dane Borchers out of Wittenberg's offensive game plan. Wittenberg's first 12 points came on three-pointers - three by senior wing Kenny Brady and one by senior wing Phil Steffes - and the lead eventually stretched out to 24-12 on a triple by junior wing Billy Bowen at the 8:47 mark of the first half.
A 16-2 Cedarville run swung the lead back in the Yellow Jackets' favor at the 5:07 mark, but Wittenberg answered with a 11-5 burst, capped by baskets in the final minute by Borchers and Brady that gave the Tigers a four-point halftime lead.
After Cedarville opened the second half with a basket, Wittenberg answered with an 8-0 run as junior point guard Pat Denbow drilled a pair of key three-pointers and Brady added two free throws. The lead reached 14 points on a Steffes three-pointer and a bucket by Russ at the 7:25 mark of the second half. The Yellow Jackets whittled the lead down to four points late in the half, but Steffes, who finished with 10 points, drilled two free throws and freshman point guard Gregg Hill added a free throw with 21 seconds left to seal the game. Cedarville was held without a basket from the field in the final 3:31 of the game, capping another sterling defensive effort for the Tigers, the top defensive team in the NCAC.
Brady led the Tigers with 15 points and eight rebounds, and Russ added 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Coming off a win over Denison in which they were actually outrebounded by four, the Tigers were dominant on the glass with a 38-28 advantage. Also of note was Wittenberg's performance from the free throw line as the Tigers drilled 11-of-12 attempts.