Alex Brandt hit all six of his shots, but the rest of the Tigers were limited to 12-of-43 from the field in a six-point loss at Wabash.
File Photo/Erin Pence
CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — Life on the road in one of the top conferences in all of NCAA Division III in the 2011-12 season can be cruel. For just the second time in the 2011-12 season, the Wittenberg Tigers found that to be true in a 55-49 loss at Wabash.
The Tigers lost on the Little Giants' home floor for the fourth straight year, dropping to 17-5 overall and 11-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in the process. Wittenberg's lead in the NCAC regular season title chase was trimmed to one game with the loss, heading into a match-up against second-place Wooster on Saturday, Feb. 11.
The Scots, the defending NCAC champion and the national runner-up a year ago, come into the contest with records of 19-3 overall and 10-3 in the conference after rallying to beat Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday. Wittenberg won the first match-up between the two teams 56-55 on a buzzer-beater in December.
It is unlikely that the Tigers were looking ahead to the Wooster game, given their inability to close the deal at Wabash in recent years. Wittenberg struggled nonetheless, shooting just 36.7 percent from the field, including 3-of-17 from three-point range. More importantly, the Tigers made just 10-of-20 from the free throw line.
Wabash led throughout the first half, but Wittenberg rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit thanks a 9-2 burst to open the second half that tied the game at 28-28 at the 14:33 mark. In a defensive slugfest, there was one offensive flurry as senior Josh McKee (New Carlisle, Ohio/Tecumseh) scored 10 straight points in a span of just 1:14, but the Little Giants matched the scoring spree, capped by a three-pointer and a tip-in by Andy Walsh that restored a three-point lead.
Walsh, who came off the bench to pour in a career-high 18 points, later made the biggest shot of the game, draining a three-pointer with 1:34 left and the Little Giants clinging to a one-point lead. Wabash outscored Wittenberg 8-3 from that point to secure the victory.
Senior Alex Brandt (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) led the Tigers with 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting, but he was the only Tiger to find the range against the Little Giants as Wittenberg was held to its season-low point total. McKee and sophomore Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford) added 10 points apiece, with the 6-2 Leahy also leading the Tigers with seven rebounds.