SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers started fast, but they couldn't come up with the big shots when they needed them most down the stretch, leading to a 66-56 loss to arch-rival Wooster.
The Tigers lost for the fourth straight time in one of the best rivalries in all of NCAA Division III athletics, falling to 13-4 overall and 5-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). The loss dropped Wittenberg into third place, three games behind the Scots and a game back of Wabash. Wooster, ranked 25th nationally, is now 13-4 overall but, more importantly, has reached the halfway point of the NCAC schedule with a perfect 8-0 record.
Wittenberg jumped out to a 16-5 advantage through the first eight minutes, but the offense just never clicked from that point on. The Scots rallied to even the score on a three-pointer by Justin Hallowell at the 5:02 mark of the first half, and they pulled out to a five-point lead by halftime.
In the second half, it was the Tigers' turn to rally, pulling even at 44-44 on a jumper in the lane by senior post Mark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Parkway). The Scots responded with three straight three-pointers in a 9-2 run that eventually proved to be too much for the Tigers to overcome. A three-pointer by Wittenberg junior guardChris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) with 2:46 left closed the gap to 60-56, but the Tigers could get no closer, despite three possessions that netted relatively good looks over the next 1:47. The Scots closed the game out with six straight free throws over the final 33 seconds.
Wooster hit 42 percent from the field, including 9-of-27 on three-pointers, compared to 34 percent for Wittenberg, including 10-of-29 from long distance. Two things stand out in the final box score - the Tigers shot just 4-of-11 from the free throw line, including just 1-of-5 in the second half, contrasted with Wooster's 13-of-16 performance; and the Scots pulled out a 39-37 rebounding advantage.
Individually, Wittenberg was paced by Sullivan with 18 points on 6-of-12 three-pointers. He added seven rebounds. Senior point guard David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) added nine points, five rebounds and two assists. Wooster got 22 points from Ian Franks, backed by 13 points and 12 rebounds from Hallowell and 10 points off the bench from Matt Fegan.
The Tigers will try to bounce back from their untimely two-game slide at Earlham at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27.