GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers took exceptional care of the basketball and continued their hot shooting, topping the 50 percent mark for the third straight game en route to a 95-55 victory over homestanding Denison.
The margin of defeat was the largest of the season for Denison, which fell to 3-11 overall and 3-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). The margin of victory was the largest for the Tigers since a 91-50 win at Oberlin on Feb. 21, 2009. In the process, Wittenberg improved to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in the NCAC, good for second place.
The Tigers got off to a strong start, breaking an 18-18 tie at the 11:04 mark of the first half with 13 straight points en route to a stunning 49-28 halftime lead. Scoring 14 of the first 16 points in the second half, the Tigers simply poured it on over the final 20 minutes, eventually emptying the bench as 14 of the 16 players suited up found their way into the point column.
Wittenberg played perhaps its most complete game of the 2009-10 season, exhibiting tremendous offensive balance and taking extraordinary care of the ball, committing just five turnovers in the entire game. Through the first 30 minutes of the contest, the Tigers committed just one turnover, threatening the program record of four turnovers in a game.
As a team, the Tigers shot 55 percent from the field in the first half and 51 percent for the game overall. For the third straight game, the Tigers hit at least 12 three-pointers, this time finishing a deceiving 12-of-28 from long distance. Wittenberg missed four of their last five three-pointers - long after the game had been decided.
Finally, the Tigers outrebounded Denison by a 41-28 margin. Fifteen of the 16 Tiger players who appeared in the game grabbed at least one board in the game, led by senior post Mark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Parkway) with 10 rebounds, including five at the offensive end. As a team, Wittenberg collected 19 offensive caroms.
Offensively, the top Wittenberg scorers were sophomore wing Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) and junior wing Seth Hill (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) with 12 points apiece. In Hill's case, the scoring total was easily a career high in his first varsity appearance of the 2009-10 season. In his career, Hill had previously scored just 38 points, all in 17 games during the 2008-09 season.
McKee, who drained all five of his three-pointers to tie a school record on Saturday against visiting Oberlin, was just 2-of-8 from long range in this one, but Hill was tremendous in his 15 minutes off the bench. He hit 4-of-5 from the field, including both three-pointers, and he added 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
Also reaching double figures in scoring were sophomore Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) and freshman David Hieber (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) with 10 points apiece. Cooper finished 5-of-5 from the field to go along with four rebounds and three assists.