WOOSTER, Ohio — Twice during the 2009-10 regular season, the Wittenberg Tigers and Wabash Little Giants tangled on the hardwood. Both times, the Tigers held a first-half lead, only to go cold down the stretch and lose. The third time was the charm for the Tigers as they won a game that followed the same script until the final 10 seconds, when freshman David Hieber (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) hit two free throws to give Wittenberg a 61-60 victory.
The third-seeded Tigers advanced to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament title game for the first time since winning their second straight conference championship in 2006. Wittenberg, which improved to 21-6 overall in 2009-10, will face a familiar foe in the final, the College of Wooster. The two teams split their regular season meetings, with each team winning on the other's home floor.
Second-seeded Wabash saw its season end with an overall record of 18-8. Wittenberg will square off with the Scots, ranked 19th nationally and seeded No. 1 after a 15-1 NCAC regular season, at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Wittenberg seemed to have the game in hand at halftime after outscoring the Little 16-4 over the final 11 minutes of the opening stanza. But Wabash dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half, completely erasing the Wittenberg advantage. After Wittenberg built the lead back to seven on a pair of free throws by sophomoreJosh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh), Wabash again stormed back, scoring nine of the next 11 points to take a 60-59 lead with 45 seconds left.
That set stage for a frenzied final sequence, starting with a steal by Wabash star Wes Smith, who then missed the fast-break lay-up at the other end. Wittenberg sophomore Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) missed a short jumper on the ensuing possession, but Wabash's Chase Haltom stepped out of bounds attempting to corral the rebound. Wabash then committed back-to-back fouls inside of two seconds of clock time, the second sending Hieber to the line.
After Hieber sank both shots, Wabash's Aaron Brock had his jumper blocked by Tiger junior Lewis Buzzard (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) and rebounded by senior Brad Folta (West Lafayette, Ind./West Lafayette). Both players were seeing their first action in the entire game.
Wittenberg made an uncharacteristic 15 turnovers in the game, but the Tigers narrowly won the battle of the boards, 39-36, including 14 offensive caroms. For the game, Wittenberg shot 48 from the floor, including a 9-of-24 performance from long distance. In the first half alone, the Tigers were 7-of-12 from three-point range. On the flip side, Wabash shot just 27 percent in the first half and 39 percent for the game.
Offensively, Wittenberg did not put a player in double figures, with junior Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and McKee leading the way with nine points apiece. McKee added five rebounds and two assists, while Hieber and sophomore Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) added eight points each. Hieber added five rebounds in 13 tremendous minutes off the bench.