MEADVILLE, Pa. - The Wittenberg Tigers turned in another efficient offensive performance and took advantage of a significant rebounding advantage to pull out an 85-73 road win over the Allegheny Gators.
The Tigers improved to 13-2 overall and 5-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) with the win, remaining one game behind front-running Wooster in the standings. Wittenberg won its eighth straight game since losing two of three in mid-December. Allegheny, which has lost three in a row and 19 of its last 23 games to Wittenberg, dropped to 6-8 overall and 3-3 in the NCAC.
Wittenberg broke open a close game midway through the first half. Trailing 16-11 at the 13:34 mark, the Tigers scored the next nine points, capped by four straight from junior wing Seth Hill (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine). Another nine-point run moments later expanded the lead to 34-21 with 5:06 left before halftime.
A 9-2 run coming out of halftime pushed the margin to 20 points, and it appeared the Tigers were well on their to another impressive blowout victory. The Gators rallied, however, trimming the lead to seven points on two occasions in the late going. The Tigers hit 6-of-8 from the free throw line over the final two minutes, in addition to two lay-ups after breaking full court pressure.
Wittenberg shot 50 percent from the field, the fourth straight game at or above the 50 percent mark. Sophomore Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) followed up on his 5-of-5 shooting performance at Denison on Wednesday with a 10-of-11 performance at Allegheny. He finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists in 27 efficient minutes.
Cooper led four players in double figures. Sophomore Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) added 15 points, four rebounds and five assists, junior Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) chipped in with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists, and senior Mark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Parkway) was strong in the interior, adding 13 points and eight boards.
Key to the game were a 46-31 Wittenberg rebounding advantage and solid defensive play that forced the Gators into 5-of-25 shooting from long range.