SPRINGFIELD, Ohio-- The Wittenberg Tigers took care of business in their opening round game of the Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic Tuesday night. The Tigers managed to get out and run in the first half, while working the ball down low to their bigs the entire game in route to a 74-58 win over Earlham. With the home victory, the Tigers advance to the Championship game of the Zimmerman Classic against Washington University St. Louis, Wednesday night, at 7 p.m.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• After nearly shooting 60 percent from the floor in the first-half, Wittenberg took a 45-32 lead into the locker-room at the half. 
• The Tigers tallied eight steals in the first half, with Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio / Perrysburg) recording three.
• Garrett Dorfman (Durham, NC / Northern Durham) and Jaelin Williams (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) lead at half with seven points apiece.
• In the second-half, the Tigers saw their lead extend to as many as 16 with ten minutes remaining in regulation.
• All night the Tiger's offense found themselves able to work the ball inside, highlighted by Chad Roy (Toledo, Ohio / Holland Springfield) and his 17 point, five rebound performance.
• Wittenberg's on ball pressure and ability to contest passes lead to the Tigers 74-58 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Tigers recorded 11 steals against Earlham resulting in 25 points off of turnovers.
• Chris Sloneker (Monroe, Ohio / Monroe) complimented Roy's offensive outburst with 12 points of his own in the paint.
• Wittenberg's offense shot over 50 percent from the floor in teh victory.

KEY STATS

• Roy shot a perfect 6-6 from the floor in route to his 17 points.
• The Tigers recorded 20 steals against Earlham in 1992, while their 11 tonight is second most against Earlham in a single game.
• Wittenberg also enjoyed an outburst of bench points against Earlham, 37-16.

FROM THE BENCH

"In general, no matter who we are playing and their physical presence aside, we need to work the ball inside... My hat is off to our guys, contesting passes was talked about prior to the game but I was amazed at how it translated into steals and keeping Earlham away from the hoop tonight," Coach Brown said.

UP NEXT

• Wittenberg will be back in action in the Championship game of the Zimmerman Memorial Classic tomorrow night at 7:00p.m. against Washington University-St. Louis.

Written By: Kuris Duggan