SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Since he took the helm at Wittenberg, Bill Brown's Tigers have lost just three times in 20 seasons to Kenyon College, the school at which he landed his first permanent head coaching position in 1985. Last night the Lords threatened to buck the trend, but the Tigers held on for a 71-64 victory at Pam Evans Smith Arena.
Nine Tiger turnovers counterbalanced a 23-14 first-half rebounding advantage for Wittenberg, helping Kenyon take the lead twice in the period, including a two-point bump 16 minutes into the game.
Junior post Scott Masin (New Carlisle, Ohio/Bethel) answered by sinking a pair of free throws, and an old-fashioned three-point-play by sophomore guard Ben Syroka (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) setup by a steal from senior wing Cam Walton (Waterville, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) gave Wittenberg a lead it would hold the rest of the way, though twice by only one point.
The Lords closed to within one with just seven seconds remaining in the first half before Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford) hit a spot-up three pointer as time expired, giving the Tigers a four point halftime lead.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Kenyon again cut the lead to one. The Tigers responded with a nine-point run, eventually expanding the margin to 12 points before Kenyon cut it back to 64-62 with 2:20 showing on the clock.
The Tigers earned five of their final seven points at the free throw line, including a pair by Masin, who also laid in a basket down the stretch. Masin finished with team-best figures of 21 points and 12 rebounds, good for his seventh double-double of the season.
For the game, Wittenberg and Kenyon both shot 44.4 percent (24-54) from the floor. Wittenberg went 9-for-26 (34.6 percent) from three-point range against Kenyon's 6-for-15 (40 percent), but held a commanding 42-28 advantage on the boards.
Sophomore wing Sam Collins (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) finished with 10 rebounds, while Leahy checked in with 13 points and junior guard Steven Newell (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) went 4-for-6 from three-point range for 12 points.
The Tigers head to Denison University on Saturday, Jan. 12, for a 3 p.m. contest with the Big Red.