GRANVILLE, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers ran their modest mid-season winning streak to five straight games on Wednesday, opening the new year just as they left off 2007 with a 73-59 win over Denison.
The win moved the Tigers above .500 for the first time this season at 6-5 overall, and more importantly boosted Wittenberg to 2-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Denison, which has lost 24 of the last 25 games to Wittenberg since 1997, dropped to 0-11 overall and 0-2 in the NCAC.
A fast start was key for the Tigers, who moved out to a 17-point halftime lead and never looked back. Twelve of the 14 Wittenberg players who saw action in the game scored at least two points, led by junior guard Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union). He drilled three 3-pointers in the first half en route to a game-high 21 points.
The only other Wittenberg player to reach double figures was senior Brandan Barabino (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit), who continued to play the best basketball of his collegiate career. He finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Tigers, who pushed the lead as high as 25 points midway through the second half, also picked up six points and seven boards from junior post Jeromy Romero (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes). As a team, the Tigers held a 39-32 rebound advantage and committed 12 turnovers, a total matched by the Big Red. Wittenberg shot 48 percent from the field in the first half en route to a 45 percent performance overall in the game.