GAMBIER, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers picked themselves up off the mat Saturday and picked up a crucial 73-61 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory over host Kenyon.
The win stopped a two-game slide while evening out Wittenberg's overall record at 8-8. More importantly, the Tigers pulled even with Kenyon in the NCAC standings at 5-3, two games behind co-leaders Wooster and Hiram. Kenyon is now 11-6 overall.
Coming off losses to arch-rivals Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan, things started off terribly for the Tigers as Kenyon scored the first seven points of the game and held a commanding 18-10 advantage with 11:10 to go in the first half. From that point on, Wittenberg outscored the Lords 30-12 to take a stunning 40-30 lead into the locker room at halftime.
After making 14-of-21 shots in the first half, including both three-pointers they attempted, the Tigers kept up the pressure, finishing with a season-best 62.2 percent from the field and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from three-point range as they slowly pulled away. Wittenberg also won the rebounding battle 28-19, which offset a season-high 25 turnovers. Finally, the Tigers made 22-of-27 shots from the free throw line to cement the victory.
Senior wing Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) finished with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. He was joined in double figures by junior guard David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) with 11 points, on the strength of a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, freshman postAlex Brandt (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) with 10 points in a season-high 31 minutes, and 10 points apiece off the bench from sophomores Kyle Peterson (Caledonia, Ohio/River Valley) and Lewis Buzzard (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights).
Interestingly, no Tiger player finished with more than four rebounds in the game, although eight different players grabbed at least two caroms.
Wittenberg returns home for a monumental three-game home stand, starting with a game against NCAC rival Wabash at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 28. That is followed by a visit from Transylvania on Friday, Jan. 30, and a clash with league-leading Hiram on Saturday, Jan. 31.