SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers battled through a first-half shooting slump to nearly catch the College of Wooster, only to have the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) leaders hit multiple clutch shots down the stretch in a 67-53 Fighting Scots victory.
The Tigers fell back to the .500 mark overall with their second straight loss to a team tied for first place in the league - following on the heels of a loss on Wednesday at Ohio Wesleyan. Wittenberg remained in a fourth-place tie with Kenyon at 8-6 in the conference, while Wooster improved to 17-6 overall and 12-2 in the league to remain in a deadlock atop the standings with the Bishops.
A slow start doomed the Tigers, who put together a valiant second-half comeback, thanks largely to the strong play of freshman wing Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South), who scored all 13 of his points in the final 20 minutes. Before halftime, the Tigers hit a paltry 25 percent and were outrebounded by nine in falling behind 35-20.
Cooper's outstanding play - he also finished with a team-high seven rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes - helped the Tigers draw within six points twice in the final five minutes. Wooster's Nathan Balch and Ian Franks combined for three clutch three-pointers down the stretch, each time responding to a Wittenberg score and demoralizing what was easily the largest and most boisterous Wittenberg home crowd of the 2008-09 season.
Cooper was the lone Tiger to reach double figures offensively, although freshman post Alex Brandt (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) also turned a stellar game with nine points and five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) added nine points and two steals, but the Tigers couldn't overcome a 37-26 rebounding margin or Wooster's perfect at the free throw line (12-of-12), which contrasted starkly to Wittenberg's 16-of-25 performance, which included three missed front ends of one-and-one opportunities.
The Tigers may be down, but aren't necessarily out as they must quickly turn their attention to a busy week. It starts with a recently scheduled game against Indiana University-East on Monday and continues with a road game at Wabash on Wednesday and the regular season finale at home against Kenyon. Those two games will be key for NCAC Tournament positioning.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tickets purchased in advance of the cancelled Jan. 30 game against Transylvania can be used for admission into the IU-East game on Monday, Feb. 16.