WOOSTER, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers fell behind 9-2 in the first five minutes and never dug out of the hole, losing the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament championship game to host Wooster, 88-77.
The Tigers, the No. 3 seed after finishing the NCAC regular season with an 11-5 conference record, dropped to 21-7 overall with the loss and likely saw their 2009-10 campaign come to an end. Wooster, the No. 1 seed after finishing 15-1 in the NCAC regular season, reached the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 23-5 overall record.
After Wittenberg closed the gap to 23-18 with a little more than seven minutes to play in the first half, Wooster closed with a rush, outscoring the Tigers 22-9 to take a commanding 45-27 lead into the locker room at halftime. After the lead swelled to 21 early in the second half, Wittenberg again battled back, closing to within six points on a jumper by sophomore Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) at the 10:16 mark of the second half.
However, the energy it took to get back into the game proved too much. With Wooster's Ian Franks knocking down 14-of-16 free throws in the second half alone, the 19th-ranked Scots did just enough to keep the feisty Tigers at bay.
As a team, Wittenberg made just 33 percent from the field, although the Tigers hoisted 20 more shots, thanks in large part to 20 offensive rebounds. Individually, Cooper was simply tremendous in 25 minutes off the bench. He scored a career-high 23 points, including an 11-of-12 performance from the free throw line, while also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out three assists.
Junior Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) added 15 points, three rebounds and two assists, while freshman David Hieber (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) finished with a career-high 15 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Wooster was paced by Nathan Balch with 22 points and Franks with 21 points and five assists, while Bryan Wickliffe added 18 points and seven rebounds.
The draw for the 2010 NCAA Division III Tournament will be announced Monday, March 1. Wittenberg is one of the teams under consideration for an at-large berth.