Oberlin, OH – The No. 4 Wittenberg men's basketball team traveled to Oberlin College to open up North Coast Athletic Conference action against the Yeomen. The Tigers were forced to make a hard-fought comeback, overtaking Oberlin with a 66-56 final score, moving to 3-0 on the season. Wittenberg entered the game, shooting 51 percent from the field, averaging nearly 90 points per game. Posting his third double-double in his third straight game, Connor Seipel led the Tigers with 20 points and 13 rebounds adding three assists and a steal to his total. Jake Bertemes followed up as the second leading Wittenberg scorer, posting 15 points with six points coming from the charity stripe. Jordan Pumroy was the second leading rebounder in the hard-fought battle for the Red and White, pulling down 10 rebounds, going along with his nine points and two steals. Wittenberg knocked down just 35 percent of their shots from the floor on the night, coming through at the free-throw line knocking down 22 of 31 attempts.
Game Breakdown
Seipel put in the first points of the game for the Red and White, flushing the put-back on his first offensive rebound of the night. The two sides battled it out through the early going with Oberlin, holding a 17-10 lead with just under 10 minutes in the first half, after Landon Martin broke a Tiger scoring drought. Wittenberg fought back to within six at the break, as Wittenberg made seven consecutive free-throws with less than five minutes in the first half. Coming out of the break, Seiple was the first to find his way into the scoring column with a pair of made free-throws, after less than a minute of action expired. Wittenberg continued to chip away at the Oberlin advantage, as the Yeomen once held a 10-point lead, the Tigers were now just a bucket away from a tie-game. Bertemes knotted things at 54-54 by knocking down a jumper with 4:38 on the clock. Wittenberg would take their first lead since the first half with three-minutes on the clock, as Seipel converted the layup, giving the Tigers the 56-54 lead. The Tigers would go on to play lockdown defense and holding on for the win.
From The Bench
"That was a great conference road win for our team. I'm extremely proud of our guys toughness and grit to hang in there when things weren't going our way," said Head Coach Matt Croci.
UP NEXT
Wittenberg will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 4 continuing NCAC action, traveling to DePauw for a 7:00 PM showdown in Greencastle, IN.
Take a �� at the breakdown of No. 4 @WittenbergHoops exciting comeback ��️ win over Oberlin! #TigerUp pic.twitter.com/ilpZbuDayJ
— Wittenberg Athletics (@WittAthletics) November 27, 2019