CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. - Cold shooting, coupled with a three-point barrage from the host Wabash Little Giants, sent the Wittenberg Tigers to a road loss by a 68-43 score. Wabash jumped out to a 15-2 lead and never looked back as the hosts evened up the season series between the two squads.
For the first time all season, no Tiger reached double figures offensively, although 10 of the 14 players who saw action found their way into the scorebook. Sophomore wing Seth Hill (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) provided one of the few bright spots on the evening for the Tigers, scoring six points while grabbing two rebounds and distributing a pair of assists.
On the night, however, the story of the contest came from 12-of-27 (44 percent) shooting from beyond the arc for the Little Giants, well above their season average of 29 percent. Chase Haltom had six of the triples, scoring 22 points and leading the way for Wabash, which improved to 11-12 overall and 6-9 in the conference.
On the flip side, the Tigers, who dropped to 12-12 overall and 8-7 in the conference, struggled from every part of the floor, accumulating a 28 percent shooting evening that included only five threes in 23 attempts. Wittenberg did win the battle on the boards, including a 20-12 edge on the offensive end. Junior postMark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Parkway) took down eight boards, including five of the offensive variety.
The result creates a showdown on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. from Pam Evans Smith Arena for the coveted No. 4 seed in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament with the Kenyon Lords. Albeit determined that the two teams will meet again the following Tuesday in the NCAC Tournament quarterfinals, the teams' battle will determine the home team in that contest. Saturday's duel with Kenyon also celebrates Senior Day for the Tigers' lone fourth-year, Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel).