COLUMBUS, Ohio — With their backs pressed firmly against the Capital Center wall, the Wittenberg Tigers rallied to force overtime and then came away with a hard-fought 73-68 double overtime victory over the host Capital Crusaders.
The win was 10th-ranked Wittenberg's third straight to open the season, while the Crusaders were playing both their season and home-opener. The Tigers have defeated Capital each of the last three years - although this was by far the closest game.
Wittenberg came out strong, opening up a 14-5 lead in the seven minutes of the game. However, Capital did not let this one get away from them the way the last two meetings between the former Ohio Athletic Conference rivals, ending the half on a 9-2 run to take its first lead of the game at 28-26.
In the second half, the Tigers trailed by as many as nine points before the offense finally got untracked. Still, Capital didn't go away, even after a 12-1 Wittenberg run - capped by a three-point play by sophomore wing Gregg Hill (Redford, Mich./Union) - put the Tigers back in front at the 6:14 mark. The two teams traded defensive stops down the stretch until Hill hit two free throws with 1:12 remaining to give the Tigers a tenuous one-point lead.
Three missed shots later, Wittenberg senior post Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) was whistled for a loose-ball foul with three seconds left. Capital's Jake Fanning made one-of-two free throws, however, and the two teams went to overtime.
It took a pair of five-minute extra sessions for the Tigers to finally gain control, and the difference-maker was Borchers. He scored eight of his game-high 20 points, including six of his eight free throws - in the two overtimes. None were bigger than the pair he canned with 22 seconds left in the first session. Capital missed a three-pointer at the other end in response, and by the end of the second OT, Borchers had fouled two Crusader players out.
The other huge play in the first overtime was a three-pointer by sophomore wing Mark Caraway (Jamestown, Ohio/Greeneview), which chopped a four-point Capital lead to one at the 1:44 mark. Likewise, in the second overtime, Hill canned a three-pointer that jump-started the Tigers. Borchers then took over, scoring six of the team's final eight points.
Borchers also finished with game-highs of five blocked shots and 16 rebounds while playing a career-high 42 minutes in the game. Hill added 16 points despite 3-of-11 shooting from the field as he made 9-of-12 free throws. In addition, senior post Jack Hemenway (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) turned in a solid performance, finishing with nine points, five rebounds and three steals.
Capital put three players in double figures - Nate Stahl, Steve Kyser and Fanning - and the Crusaders drilled six more three-pointers in the game to overcome 31 percent shooting from the field. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 51-46.