ROCHESTER, NY — The Wittenberg Tigers let a seven-point second-half lead slip away in the closing minutes, falling to host University of Rochester 62-57 in the championship game of the UR/HIA Tournament.
The loss dropped Wittenberg, which had reached the title game with a 10-point semifinal win over Washington & Jefferson less than 24 hours earlier, to 1-3 on the young season. Rochester, which also was forced to rally in the second half of its semifinal victory over Pittsburgh-Bradford, improved to 4-1.
The two teams battled to a 30-30 draw through the first half. Junior Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the opening 20 minutes, while senior Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) carried the load in the second half, dropping 14 of his 17 points. But after the Tigers took a 54-47 lead on a Sullivan three-pointer with 7:20 left in the game, the Yellowjackets dominated, outscoring the visitors 15-3 and ending the game on a nine-point run over the final 4:09.
Black, who also added a game-high 11 rebounds and three assists, made the all-tournament team. Sullivan, who scored a career-best 30 points in the first round match-up, also earned all-tournament team honors. Black and Sullivan combined to make 14-of-24 shots from the field, but the rest of Wittenberg's line-up managed just 10-of-25.
Sophomore Cameron Walton (Waterville, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) provided a spark off the bench, contributing a career-high 10 points and three assists in 30 minutes. Wittenberg won the rebounding battle, 36-29, but the Tigers committed five more turnovers in the game. Wittenberg made one more shot from the field - and two more three-pointers - but Rochester made nine more shots from the free throw line, as Wittenberg was just 2-of-2 from the charity stripe in the entire contest.