Posted: Jan 14, 2017
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—The Tigers and Fighting Scots rivalry dates back to the late 1990's when Coach Matt Croci was a player for the Tigers. In their first season under Croci's guidance, the Tigers have shown grit defense, and flashes of firing on all cylinders offensively. On Saturday, against a high-powered Wooster offense, the Tigers entered the contest at 4-3 in NCAC play with all three of those losses coming by four points or less. Wittenberg fell victim to a big run by Wooster in the second half to go down ten points, before falling 70-55 to the Fighting Scots.
GAME BREAKDOWN
- Wittenberg went back and forth with the Fighting Scots in a chippy affair before Shane Edwards hit a layup in the second half with under 12 minutes remaining on the clock to cut the Wooster lead to 40-38.
- The Fighting Scots responded to the Edwards layup with back to back three-pointer and a layup their next three trips down the floor to stretch the lead to ten as the Tigers produced three empty offensive possessions.
- Chad Roy managed to hold his own in the low post, leading the Tigers with 16 points in the pick and roll game for the Tigers, but the Tigers would not be able to cut the Wooster lead to less than eight for the remainder of the contest.
- The Tigers ran out of gas at the end, falling 70-55 at the final horn.
KEY STATS
- Jaelin Williams recorded a double-double for the Tigers as the Springfield product poured in ten points and pulled down 11 boards for the Tigers on Saturday.
- Roy's 16 points complimented six rebounds and a block, as three of those rebounds came on the offensive glass for the red and white.
- Wooster produced 12 points off of nine Tiger turnovers, while the Fighting Scots bench outscored the Tigers bench 28-15 in the loss.
FROM THE COACH
- "I thought we played OK defensively, but we just struggled most the game making shots…We've been playing well defensively most of the year, but we just couldn't sustain anything within the game today because we couldn't score. We've got to execute better offensively and get more high-percentage shots," said Coach Croci.
UP NEXT
- Wittenberg returns to action on Wednesday night against the Battling Bishops of OWU in Delaware, Ohio at 7:30PM.