DELAWARE, Ohio—Wittenberg fell to the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan University for the third time in 2016-17 on Friday night. OWU advanced to the championship game of the NCAC tournament, as Wittenberg dropped the NCAC semifinal contest to OWU 77-68. The Battling Bishops took the lead from the Tigers with 17:30 remaining in the first half, and would hold on to that lead for the remainder of the contest. The Tigers trailed by as little as three points with less than nine minutes remaining in the contest, but the OWU offense stood tall down the stretch on their home court.
In the first season of the Croci era, the Tigers finished 18-9 overall, with an 11-7 conference record. The Tigers rattled off seven straight victories through January and February, locking up the number four seed in the NCAC tournament along the way. Wittenberg earned a date with OWU on Friday night in the semifinals after disposing of Hiram 90-44 in the quarterfinals. The Tigers NCAC tournament win over Hiram was the team's first playoff victory since 2013.
GAME BREAKDOWN
- The Tigers came out of the gates hot on Friday night, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after a Chad Roy layup and a Shane Edwards jumper.
- OWU energized the crowd with a dunk, before taking the lead 5-4 with 17:30 remaining in the game, as this would hold as the only lead change on the night.
- Roy tipped in his own miss with 8:17 remaining in the first half, as the Tigers trailed 20-17.
- At the break, Wittenberg 35-26 after shooting 29.3% as a team.
- With 13:51 remaining in regulation, senior Cody Phillippi splashed home a three-pointer to cute the Battling Bishop lead to 48-42.
- The Tigers next possession started off with a Micah Miller missed three-pointer that led to a Jordan Pumroy offensive rebound, as Pumroy then found Miller open at the top of a key, connecting on his second chance three-pointer, cutting the OWU lead to 48-45.
- With 8:54 remaining in regulation, Roy completed an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the Battling Bishops lead to 62-59.
- Wittenberg would come as close as seven points down the stretch before falling 77-68.
KEY STATS
- 14 of the Tigers 27 field-goals came off of assists, as 19 of OWU's 28 field-goal attempts came from assists.
- Roy recorded a double-double for the Tigers, pouring in 23 points on nine of 19 shooting, while pulling down ten rebounds.
- Phillippi cashed in 21 points for the Tigers in his last game donning the red and white, while pulling down four rebounds, and dishing out two assists.
- As a team, Wittenberg out rebounded OWU 50-46, pulling down 21 offensive rebounds to the Battling Bishop's six.