GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers saw their three-game winning streak come to a heartbreaking end as the Denison Big Red pulled out a 75-72 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory on the strength of four free throws in the final 10 seconds.
Wittenberg nearly completed a comeback of their own after rallying from a 67-61 deficit over the final four minutes to take a one-point lead with 17 seconds remaining on a lay-up by sophomore Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee). After a Denison timeout, however, the Big Red's Bret Woolard was fouled with 10 seconds left and put his team ahead with a pair of successful free throws. After an unsuccessful possession at the other end by the Tigers, Woolard put the game away with two more free throws.
The loss dropped Wittenberg into a sixth-place tie with Denison in the NCAC standings with matching records of 5-7. Overall, the Tigers dropped to 7-12 heading into their final six games of the 2014-15 regular season.
Wittenberg, which defeated the Big Red in Springfield by two points on Dec. 13, trailed in the early going before closing the first half with a rush to take a 43-34 lead. Denison battled back over the first 10 minutes of the second half and led by as many as seven points before the Tigers staged the aforementioned rally and set the stage for Woolard's game-ending heroics.
The Tigers shot 52.8 percent from the field, including a blistering 8-of-13 performance from three-point range, and Wittenberg held a commanding 30-23 advantage on the boards. Denison answered, however, by shooting 52 percent from the field and making three more three-pointers.
Individually, Wittenberg was paced by sophomore Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) with 14 points and three assists. Williams added 13 points and three rebounds, while sophomore Landon Hormann (West Liberty, Ohio/Salem) chipped in with 10 points and three boards in 14 effective minutes off the bench. Also of note, junior Alex Fultz (Batavia, Ohio/Glen Este) knocked down 3-of-4 from three-point range to finish with nine points in the game.
Written By: Ryan Maurer