SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Wittenberg men's basketball team was in an exciting and fast-paced game the whole night, but finished just behind visiting Ohio Wesleyan for a 49-47 loss to drop to 7-13 overall and 5-8 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Ohio Wesleyan, currently leading the league at 11-2 in conference play and 16-4 overall, exchanged the lead with Wittenberg seven times throughout the first half as the Tigers won the battle of the boards 29-13 but trailed 25-24 at halftime.

The hosts came charging out of the break, though, with the first six points of the half to take a 30-25 lead on a pair of free throw makes by sophomore Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) and layups by sophomore Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) and freshman Chris Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe).

The Bishops responded with nine of the next 12 points to change the lead for the eighth time in the game, taking a 34-33 lead with 15 minutes remaining. From there, it was more of the same with the lead changing hands repeatedly.

It wasn't until Ohio Wesleyan's Nick Felhaber drained a 25-foot three-pointer to make it 46-39 that the game seemed to tip towards either team. Another OWU three made it 49-39, the biggest lead of the game, though the Tigers answered with a trey of their own, and a subsequent steal and dunk for sophomore Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) brought the Tigers back within striking distance at 49-44.

Junior Alex Fultz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Glen Este) made good on the opportunity by earning an old-fashioned three-point play. Grabbing an offensive rebound down low gave him the chance to lay it in and draw the the additional shot. He converted the freebie to bring Wittenberg within two points at 49-47 – but that was where the score stayed through a frantic final minute dotted with timeouts and loose balls before time simply ran out for the Tigers.

Phillippi led the team with 14 points in the final accounting, followed by Fultz with nine points and six rebounds, and Edwards with seven points and a team-best nine rebounds. Sloneker chipped in with seven rebounds to finish even with Williams.

As a team, the Tigers had difficulty finding their range from the field, but outrebounded the Bishops by a wide 54-28 margin.

The Tigers now get ready for a visit from Oberlin College on Saturday, Feb. 7, for a 3 p.m. tipoff in Pam Evans Smith Arena.

John Strawn '07