SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The best shooting performance of the 2008-09 season helped the Wittenberg Tigers overcome a slow start in a 91-58 victory over visiting North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Earlham.
The win, Wittenberg's 18th in a row against the Quakers and fourth straight this season, moved the Tigers to 7-6 overall and 4-1 in the NCAC. Now in a three-way tie for first place with Wooster and Hiram atop in the conference standings, Wittenberg is above .500 overall for the first time in the 2008-09 campaign. Earlham fell to 1-13 overall and 1-4 in the NCAC.
What ended up a rout started as a back-and-forth contest as Earlham shot well from three-point range in the opening minutes, taking a 17-12 lead at one point. The last lead change came at the 6:42 mark of the first half on a lay-up by Tiger freshman wing Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) that made it 23-22. That was part of an 8-0 that propelled the Tigers to a 43-30 halftime lead.
The second half was all Wittenberg as the Tigers shot 62 percent from the field, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, to outscore the Quakers 48-28 over the final 20 minutes. Earlham was held to just 29 percent shooting in the second half.
Individually, it was a huge night for senior wing Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) as he hit 10-of-17 shots from the field for a career-high-tying 27 points. He also scored 27 points a year ago in a win over Otterbein.
Cooper added 10 points, five rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and three steals in a tremendous all-around effort, while sophomores Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Kyle Peterson (Caledonia, Ohio/River Valley) added eight points apiece off the bench. The Tigers won the rebounding battle 39-31 and held a commanding 60-19 advantage in points in the paint, all part of a 58 percent shooting night. Earlham actually shot more times from three-point range (30) than two-point range (29).
The win sets up a huge showdown at arch-rival Wooster on Saturday. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Scots' Timken Gymnasium.