SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers rang in a merry Christmas with a 72-56 thumping of the Otterbein Cardinals, moving to 7-2 on the season thanks to a six-point possession and 8-of-8 free throw shooting in the second half. The Tigers completed a 3-0 season sweep of Ohio Athletic Conference after wins over Capital and Ohio Northern earlier in the year.
With nine minutes remaining in the second half and Otterbein continually threatening to close out the Tigers' seven-point lead, junior guard Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) muscled home a layup despite an intentional foul. He sank both free throws and after the ensuing Tiger throw-in, another foul gave freshman wing David Hieber (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) two free chances. He sank both to complete a devastating six point possession, after which the Tigers would lead by as much as 22 and never less than 11 points.
The Tigers shot 3-for-10 from outside and went to the free throw line only three times in the first half, but started finding the net with 56-percent shooting overall in the second period. The whistles added assistance as well, while from outside the team went 5-for-9.
The Cardinals shot just 9-for-36, 25-percent from the field in the first half, allowing them to build a slight 15-13 rebound advantage around their own hoop, but Wittenberg crashed the glass after the break, gathering eight of 11 rebounds on Otterbein's side. The Tigers also benefitted from increased offensive production, as Sullivan and senior guard Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union)both scored 10 points in the closing period alone. Hill would finish with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting including 2-of-3 from long range, and Sullivan led the team with 13 points on 4-of-9 and 3-of-6 from three-point land.
Junior forward Lewis Buzzard (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) and sophomore forward Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) both chipped in nine points and Black pulled down five rebounds, while sophomore wing Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) added another solid outing with eight points and a team-leading six rebounds. Senior guard David Nowicki (Carmel, Ind./Westfield) matched a career high he set earlier this season against Messiah with nine assists, the most for a Tiger since Kenny Brady tallied nine on Dec. 12, 2002 at Urbana University.
As a team, the Tigers finished at nearly 50-percent shooting and 10-of-11 from the stripe, while Otterbein was just 31-percent from the field and 64-percent from the line.
Wittenberg now gets set to host the annual Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic in conjunction with Kiwanis, consisting of four men's and four women's basketball games over the course of two days on Dec. 29-30. The men open with Olivet at 7 p.m. on the 29th.
Written by: John Strawn '07