WESTERVILLE, Ohio - After struggling through a 2-5 start to the 2008-09 season, the Wittenberg Tigers were in desperate need of a spark. They got one Monday from freshman wingMichael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South), who was simply sensational in an 87-66 nonconference win over homestanding Otterbein.
The win moved the Tigers to 3-5 overall, nine days after a disappointing three-point North Coast Athletic Conference loss at Hiram. With Cooper and fellow football-playing freshman wing Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh)playing an increasingly key role in the Tiger rotation, Wittenberg now breaks for the Christmas holiday with a little momentum. The Tigers return to the court Dec. 29-30 in the Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic at Wittenberg's Pam Evans Smith Arena.
Otterbein, which dropped to 2-7 overall, could not contain Cooper, who posted career-highs of 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. After almost single-handedly bringing Wittenberg back from an early 11-point deficit, Cooper did plenty of damage after the intermission to help the Tigers stretch a 38-37 halftime lead to the 21-point final margin.
Also getting into the act in the second half was senior wing Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel), who scored seven straight points midway through the final 20 minutes and went on to finish with 12 after going into halftime scoreless. In reaching his season scoring average, Murray was patient and efficient - after finishing 0-for-2 from the field in the first half he nailed all five attempts in the second, including a pair of three-pointers that went along with five rebounds and three assists.
Also of note was the play of freshman post Alex Brandt (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy), who tossed in a career-high 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He added four rebounds and two assists.
The team numbers tell just as important a story as the individuals statistics. Wittenberg committed a season-low six turnovers, compared to 16 by Otterbein, and the Tigers won the rebounding battle 38-29. After shooting 55.6 percent in the second half, Wittenberg finished with a season-high 51.4 percent from the field - the third straight game in which the Tigers have made at least half of their shots.