SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Otterbein pulled off a striking impersonation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by shooting 37 percent in the first half and 71 percent in the second half to hand the Wittenberg men's basketball team a 64-61 loss Thursday night at Pam Evans Smith Arena.
Wittenberg (5-3, 3-0 NCAC) entered the halftime break protecting a 27-21 lead, but the Cardinals (4-5, 2-2 OAC) found their shooting in the locker room and scored the first six points of the second period on back-to-back three pointers by freshman RaNeal Ewing.
It was the beginning of a big half for Ewing, who scored 24 of his career-high 26 points in the closing period on 9-for-11 shooting and 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
The Tigers reclaimed the lead following Ewing's initial long-range outburst and held it most of the way through the first 10 minutes of the half, but the Cardinals went back in front with 10:15 remaining and Wittenberg would not lead again.
Wittenberg was led by 13 points from sophomore Zach Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford), followed by 11 from senior Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) and 10 from senior Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South).
Cooper connected on two three-pointers, as did sophomore Steven Newell (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) to finish with six points, just behind sophomore Scott Masin (New Carlisle, Ohio/Bethel) with nine.
Black led Wittenberg to a 34-34 tie in the battle of the boards with eight rebounds, while Leahy posted five and Newell, Cooper and senior Alex Brandt (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) each collected four.
The Tigers will take a week over Christmas to regroup before participating in the 2011 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic hosted by Kiwanis in Pam Evans Smith Arena. The Tigers open the tournament against Monmouth (Ill.) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 29. Follow every tournament game on the Tiger Sports Network with live audio/video and stats.
John Strawn '07