SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers awoke in the second half to pull away from visiting Oberlin and capture a hard-fought 82-66 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory.
The Tigers improved to 7-5 overall and, more importantly, 3-0 in the NCAC after a sixth straight victory. Oberlin fell to 2-9 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
The final is extremely deceiving as it represents the largest lead Wittenberg enjoyed all night. Oberlin shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and forced nine lead changes over the opening 20 minutes before the Tigers took a tenuous 36-35 into the locker room at halftime. Wittenberg finally grabbed control midway through the second half and put together a 9-2 run over four minutes to expand a 65-59 lead to 74-61 with 2:17 left to all but decide the outcome.
Oberlin shot 47 percent in the game, including 45 percent from three-point range. Most of the damage was done by the scorching duo of Mike Loll and Jordan Beard. Loll struck for 27 points and six rebounds, while Beard added 18 points and four assists. Combined, the pair hit 17-of-31 shots from the field, including 7-of-14 from long distance.
To its credit, Wittenberg appeared to take Oberlin's best punch time and again and responded well, thanks in large part to another fine performance from junior guard Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union). He finished with 24 points in 28 minutes, with 17 of his points coming after intermission.
It was far from a one-man show, however, as Wittenberg won the rebounding battle 38-23 and committed two fewer turnovers than the Yeomen. In the starting lineup, senior Brandan Barabino (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) posted a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and he even contributed four assists despite first-half foul trouble. Off the bench, sophomore guard David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) had his best game of the season with 11 points and two assists, while sophomore post Mark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Parkway) posted career-highs of 15 points and nine boards in 20 outstanding minutes.
The Tigers are off for a week before traveling to Allegheny on Jan. 12 for a key NCAC contest.