Tigers Go Cold In Late Going In Loss To Waynesburg

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - For just the second time in the 32-year history of a holiday basketball tournament at Wittenberg University, the homestanding Tigers lost in the opening round after Waynesburg heated up down the stretch to capture a 77-69 win.

Waynesburg, which evened its record at 4-5, advanced to the championship game against Wilmington, which defeated Alma in the day's other men's game. The Tigers, who saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped to fall to 3-7, will take on Alma in a 2:15 p.m. start on Tuesday.

Wittenberg led for most of the game's first 34 minutes, but when the Tigers needed an offensive spark the shots simply wouldn't fall. The Yellow Jackets put together the game-winning run over a two-minute stretch of the second half, turning a 59-56 Wittenberg lead into a 67-61 Waynesburg edge with 5:01 remaining.

The Tigers pulled back to within two points on two free throws by sophomore Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) at the 2:42 mark, but Wittenberg missed four shots and committed a turnover from that point while Waynesburg answered with a lay-up and the four free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Williams led Wittenberg with 15 points. Freshman Chad Roy (Toledo, Ohio/Holland Springfield) and senior Sam Collins (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) added 13 points apiece, while sophomore Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) battled through a challenging offensive night to collect a game-high 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive end. He finished with nine points and three assists, while Collins led in that category with four.

The two teams were almost even statistically in the game, with the exception of one area. Waynesburg hit 24-of-28 free throws, compared to 14-of-24 for Wittenberg.

Written By: Ryan Maurer