SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers' search for a winning formula came to a successful conclusion Saturday with a convincing 77-57 win over visiting Hiram in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opener for both teams.
The Tigers jumped on top immediately and maintained the momentum until the waning moments of the game, when a late run by Hiram narrowed a 30-point gap to the final margin of 20 points. Wittenberg improved to 2-5 overall, snapping a four-game skid, while Hiram dropped to 1-5 on the young season.
The key to the game was a whopping 46-22 rebounding advantage for the Tigers, in addition to a 33-of-64 (51.6 percent) shooting performance from the field. Hiram, which has now lost 36 straight times to Wittenberg, dating back to 1967, hit 37.7 percent from the field.
The Tigers pulled away in the middle of the first half, moving out to a 33-15 lead with 3:26 thanks to a 11-3 run that spanned nearly eight minutes. Then a 12-point halftime lead expanded rapidly in the second frame as the lead ballooned to 71-41 at the 5:53 mark thanks to a 20-4 run over a six-minute span.
Wittenberg was paced offensively by junior guard Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union) and freshman post Lewis Buzzard (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights), both of whom finished with 14 points. Hill hit all six of his shots from the field and added three assists in an efficient 24-minute performance. Buzzard was the low-post complement off the bench as he drained 7-of-11 from the field after scoring just one point in three previous appearances.
Also reaching double figures for Wittenberg were senior wing Brandan Barabino (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) and junior forward Jeromy Romero (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) with 10 points apiece. The players shared game honors with seven rebounds each, and Barabino added a career-high five assists in 23 outstanding minutes.
Hiram was led by Mike McDevitt with a game-high 15 points.