SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers continued to show important signs of progress, displaying a balanced offensive attack in an 87-65 victory over visiting Denison.
The Tigers were pressed in the early-going before the offense got in gear with a 13-2 run. That stretched a tenuous 13-11 lead at the 14:21 mark into a 26-13 bulge at the 10:48 mark. Five different Wittenberg players scored the stretch, a positive sign for a team that struggled to find scorers early in the season.
After taking a 42-27 lead into the halftime locker room, the Tigers slowly pulled away over the final 20 minutes. Wittenberg shot well in each half, hitting at a 54 percent clip from the field for the game, including a sizzling 10-of-18 from three-point range. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 31-27 and committed five less turnovers than the visiting squad (12-7). Denison hit for 43 percent from the field.
The Tigers put three players in double figures as sophomore Gregg Hill (Redford, Mich./Union) continued his hot streak with a 5-of-7 shooting performance en route to game scoring honors with 14 points. Senior post Dane Borchers (Russia, Ohio/Russia) added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, while senior wing Billy Bowen (Arcadia, Ind./Hamilton Heights) had a tremendous game with 11 points and six rebounds. He hit all three of triple tries in the game.
Also of note, senior guard Pat Denbow (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) hit a pair of three-pointers to open the second half and finish with six points and two assists against just one turnover in 17 productive minutes. Senior post Jack Hemenway (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) chipped in with eight points and four boards, while sophomore wing Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) added eight points off the bench. He also was perfect from long range, hitting on both of his three-point attempts.
Denison, which fell to 3-15 overall and 2-8 in the NCAC, was paced offensively by Shea McMahon with 14 points off the bench. Steve Koecheler added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Wittenberg, which was stretched to three overtimes before pulling out a win against Denison in December, improved to 16-3 overall and 8-2 in the NCAC. The Tigers have one more tune-up - a home game Wednesday against Earlham - before the much-anticipated road trip to NCAC leader Wooster on Feb. 3.