SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — After starting slowly and trailing most of the first half, the Wittenberg Tigers pulled it together in the second period to quiet the Wabash Little Giants in a 69-63 victory in Pam Evans Smith Arena on Wednesday night. After going into the intermission tied at 34, both teams held the lead at some point in the second half before Wittenberg pulled in front with two minutes to go and cruised into victory lane.
The Tigers actually never held the lead in the first half, after Wabash jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Gary Simkus drive. Wabash led by 10 with 4:33 left when Wittenberg ripped a 9-0 run, including five points from Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel). Trailing by three, Brandan Barabino (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) nailed a three-pointer with just two seconds on the clock to send the teams to the locker rooms locked up at 34.
Following the intermission, Barabino opened up for 4-of-5 shooting from the floor, finishing at 6-of-10 on the night with 13 points. Murray finished with a rock solid 8-of-8 mark from the free throw line, adding that to 3-of-5 shooting from the floor for a team-high 16 points. Leading the game in scoring was Wesley Smith, who averages 10 points-per-game and drained 23 against the Tigers.
It was senior night in Springfield, honoring Barabino, Brandon White (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley), and Sam Gregory (Gainesville, Fla./Oak Hall) as well as student assistant coach Drew Denisco. White finished the night with four points on 1-of-1 shooting from the floor and perfect 2-of-2 free throw shooting. Gregory ended the night with six points, hitting 2-of-3 shots and also knocking down both of his free throw attempts.
On the game, the Tigers finished at 50% shooting, but saw a drop-off in free throw percentage, which checked in at 70%. Other notable scorers for the Tigers included Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union), who finished with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a 5-of-8 performance in the second half. Murray led the team with seven rebounds, followed by David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) with six.
The Tigers move on to their regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 23, at Kenyon, with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m.
Written by: John Strawn