GREENCASTLE, Ind. - The Wittenberg Tigers pulled out perhaps their most significant win of the 2014-15 season, staging a second-half rally to secure a 54-53 decision over host DePauw.
The win was crucial to the Tigers for several reasons, starting with the fact that it pulled Wittenberg to within one game of the .500 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Wittenberg has now won six of its last eight league games after a 1-5 start in NCAC play - the Tigers are in a three-way tie for fifth place with a 7-8 record.
Wittenberg, which is 9-13 overall, is joined by Allegheny and Denison in a muddled middle section of the league standings, just one game behind fourth-place DePauw and two back of third-place Wabash. The Tigers close the season with home games against second-place Wooster and 10th-place Hiram, with a road game against eighth-place Kenyon sandwiched between.
The two teams of Tigers on the floor at DePauw traded the lead multiple times in the first half before the host team ended with a 5-0 run over the final 43 seconds to take a 32-27 lead into the intermission. Wittenberg responded, however, with an 8-0 run to open the second half and held on from there.
The visiting Tigers led 53-47 after a free throw by sophomore Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) with 35 seconds remaining in the game, but DePauw pulled down two offensive rebounds on the ensuing possession before Frank Patton finally hit a three-pointer. Phillippi split a pair from the charity stripe again with six second left, and Patton again came up with the answer on a three-pointer with one tick left.
The visiting Tigers safely inbounded the ball, however, to run out the clock and secure the victory.
Freshman Chris Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio/Monroe) led the visiting Tigers with 14 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) added 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophomore Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) rounded out Wittenberg's double-figure scorers with 10 points and four rebounds.
As a team, Wittenberg shot 48.8 percent from the field while taking just seven three-pointers in the game (making one). DePauw shot 31.1 percent and made six triples in the game. The host Tigers forced a whopping 18 Wittenberg turnovers.
Written By: Ryan Maurer