SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg-Wooster rivalry never fails to disappoint. Not permanently, at least. When the buzzer sounded Saturday night in Timken Gymnasium, the Scots had secured a 66-61 victory over the Tigers, and for about 30 seconds an air of disappointment fell over the Tiger crowd. But it was quickly replaced with the glow of pride and the satisfaction of being a part of one of the best Division III rivalries.
Despite the final score, the Wittenberg Tiger men's basketball team left their hearts on the court and gave Wooster, the 14th-ranked team in the nation according to D3hoops.com, a real run for their money. Wooster stole back bragging rights after Wittenberg had wrenched them away in an upset on Jan. 19 in Springfield.
The pace of the game, in typical Witt-Woo fashion, swung back and forth several times, spending a lot of time near the Tigers' bench. At the end of one half, Wittenberg led by one at 36-35, having kept Wooster out of the leader's position for the entire 20 minutes. In the first period, the Tigers nailed eight three-pointers on 12 attempts. Senior wing Brandan Barabino (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) took four three-point shots and made three of them, giving Wittenberg the boost it needed to stay ahead of the fiery Scots. Overall, the Tigers were 13-of-25 in the first half, hitting just five field goals from short range.
The second half wasn't quite so easy for the Tigers. What had been a mildly physical game in the first erupted into battles for position on every shot. Wooster managed to steal back the energy in the sold-out Timken Gymnasium, taking the lead just 2:30 into the second period. Following a Bryan Wickliffe lay-up to tie the game, the Tigers missed a three-pointer and gave up the rebound to Brandon Johnson of the Scots. Johnson made an outlet pass down the court to James Cooper, who promptly drained a three-pointer to put his team up.
Wooster built an eight-point lead over the next three minutes, until junior guard Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union) found his shot. He scored four points in under a minute to bring the Tigers to within two, just before Bryan Wickliffe of Wooster made one free throw shot to put it back to three. Sophomore guard David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) then made a jumper and junior wing Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) went to the hole with a lay-up to put the Tigers up by one. It was the last time they would see the lead, however, as Wooster took the advantage back on the next possession and stayed just in front of the Tigers the rest of the way. Wittenberg needed accurate, long-range shooting to stay in the game late, and they could not find it. On six attempts, the Tigers hit no three-pointers in the second half.
On the game, the Tigers wound up shooting 45% and allowed Wooster to shoot 44% in the contest. Cooper went 9-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, for a game-high 24 points. Barabino was not far behind with 18 to lead the Tigers. He was trailed by Hill, who posted 13. Barabino also led in rebounding with five, a low number compared to Wooster's leader on the boards, Evan Will, who snagged 12 and arguably contributed as much to Wooster's win as Cooper. For Wittenberg, Nowicki became an 'x-factor' throughout much of the second half, making great plays up and down the court and putting tremendous defensive pressure on Cooper. Nowicki picked up two assists, five points and four rebounds in the game.
The Tigers conceded home court advantage in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament to the Scots with the loss, and the decision evened the season series at 1-1. Ohio Wesleyan's upset loss to Earlham by a score of 79-73 earlier in the day means that the Red & White remain in sole possession of second place in the league, two games ahead of the Battling Bishops with two to play. The Tigers return to the hardwood Wednesday night, taking on Wabash in Pam Evans Smith Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. The team's three seniors, Barabino, wing Brandon White (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley) and post Sam Gregory (Gainesville, Fla./Oak Hall) will be honored.
Written by: John Strawn