GRANVILLE, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers of 2006-07 vintage have all the trappings of escape artists through the first five games of the season. The latest - and most improbable - magic act was performed in a 100-85 triple overtime win at Denison.
The heroes of the day for Wittenberg were numerous. Sophomore wing Gregg Hill (Redford, Mich./Union) drilled a three-pointer with 21 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 66 to be the first to claim the mantle. Senior postDane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) was next to step forward as he hit a short jumper with four seconds remaining in the first overtime to knot the game at 72. Then sophomore wing Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel)knocked down the biggest shot of his collegiate career with a three-pointer with 21 seconds left in the second overtime that equalled things on the scoreboard at 83.
Borchers finally took over in the third overtime, scoring 12 of his career-high 33 points in the final five minutes. Not to be overlooked, the weary Tigers also stepped up at the defensive end, limiting the host Big Red to just two points in the third overtime session.
Wittenberg, ranked sixth in the latest d3hoops.com poll, improved to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with the win, but nothing has come easy for the 2006 NCAA Division III national runner-up. The Tigers actually equalled their biggest victory margin in the win over Denison, which came on the heels of a double overtime win at Capital on Nov. 22 and a narrow 66-59 win over Transylvania at home on Nov. 26. In that game, the Pioneers pulled to within one point before Wittenberg closed the game on an 8-2 run.
Denison dropped to 1-5 overall and 0-1 in the NCAC. It was the Big Red's 57th lost in the last 59 meetings with the Tigers, dating back to 1969.
A 9-0 run to end the first half earned the Big Red a 35-30 lead at halftime, and Denison extended their advantage to as many as 12 points in the second half. But after Denison's Dan Izzo hit a three-pointer at the 13-minute mark of the second half, the Tigers chipped away. The catalyst was Hill, who scored 10 of his career-high 19 points in the final 13 minutes of the second half, culminating with the aforementioned trey that forced the first extra session.
Neither team led by more than two points in the first overtime, and Borchers came up with his big bucket to extend the game again. In the second overtime, the Big Red were foiled by poor free throw shooting as they missed their last three opportunities. Murray made them pay with a clutch triple. With Hill and senior post Jack Hemenway (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) - as well as two Denison starters - on the bench after fouling out, Borchers took over after Murray scored the first two points of the third overtime.
Borchers hit 10-of-17 shots from the field and 12-of-17 from the free throw line to finish with 33 points. He also matched his career-high of 16 rebounds established in the double overtime win at Capital. Hill hit 6-of-9 shots from the field, including 3-of-5 on three-pointers. Sophomore wing Mark Caraway (Jamestown, Ohio/Greeneview) added a career-high 16 points and Murray finished with 13 tallies. Senior wing Billy Bowen (Arcadia, Ind./Hamilton Heights) chipped in with five points and a career-best 11 rebounds off the bench.