SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg men's basketball team picked up their first win in North Coast Athletic Conference play with a 76-66 decision over Kenyon Wednesday night. The win evens the Tigers' win-loss columns at 1-1, and moves the team to 5-1 overall.
The Tigers' accurate first half shooting (16-30, 53.3 percent) helped them to a 45-33 halftime lead. Equally accurate from long range (8-15, 53.3 percent), Wittenberg also held a commanding 22-13 rebounding advantage in the first period.
While the Tigers' shooting cooled down significantly in the second half, domination at the boards held Kenyon to two offensive rebounds in the entire second period. The Tigers had a 24-13 rebounding advantage in the back half, totaling 46-26 for the game.
Sophomore forward Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) led the team with eight rebounds, while freshman wing David Hieber (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) and junior guard Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) split the scoring lead with 11 points each.
A balanced offensive attack led to nine of 10 players in the game finishing with at least three points, and eight with at least seven points. Black added nine points, including 5-of-7 from the free throw line, as did senior guard Kyle Bigler (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson).
The Tigers hit the road for the next two games, and play five consecutive non-conference games before league play starts back up after the New Year. First up is a 3 p.m. matchup at Anderson on Saturday, Dec. 12.
Written by: John Strawn '07