SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Denison came into Pam Evans Smith Arena and handed the Wittenberg men's basketball team a big surprise, stealing a 63-60 victory out of the Tigers' jaws on Saturday.
The loss drops Wittenberg to 15-4 overall and 9-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, sitting in a tie for second place with DePauw University, which fell to Oberlin on the road.
For the Tigers, it's just the second loss in nine years to Denison, but the second in two years at home. Wittenberg leads the all-time series 124-28.
Denison missed its first eight field goal attempts while Wittenberg built a 7-0 lead out of the gates. But trailing 12-5, the Big Red mounted a nine-point run to take a 14-12 lead. Denison went on to control most of the first half, and took a 28-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Tigers came out of the break with energy and immediately retook the lead on a three-point make by senior Cole Bond (Canton, Ohio/St. Thomas Aquinas). After scoring the next four points, Wittenberg settled into a groove that saw a modest lead maintained all the way until the final 2:09.
Denison's Robby Weingart drained a three-pointer to tie things a 57-all before Wittenberg senior Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford) returned the favor. Weingart nailed another three to tie things again, and Denison capitalized on a miss at the other end by handing the ball to Briggs King, who hit the final field goal of the game to make the final tally, 63-60.
The Tigers shot a solid 42.9 percent from the floor for the game but had difficulty from distance at 28.6 percent, and a 39-28 rebounding margin was muted by 16 turnovers against Denison's 10.
Individually, senior Scott Masin (New Carlisle, Ohio/Bethel) again paced the Tigers with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season. He went 5-of-8 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Leahy was only one point behind with 13, pairing that with five rebounds, the team's second-highest total along with five for junior Sam Collins (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights).
Freshman Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) provided a productive 22 minutes with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, to go with four rebounds and four assists. Bond also contributed eight points along with three rebounds, one assist and one block.
The Tigers now head into a crucial NCAC matchup with league co-leader Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio, at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The Bishops sit at 10-2 in conference action, tied with Wooster for the top spot.
John Strawn '07