Crawfordsville, IN - The No. 5 Wittenberg men's basketball team traveled to Wabash College on Wednesday evening, taking down the Little Giants, 78-69 in a battle until the final buzzer. The Tigers had four players score in double-figures on the night, led by Jake Bertemes, finishing with 19 points. Bertemes knocked down 5 of 11 from the floor, including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc and dishing out two assists. Wittenberg converted on 49 percent (27 of 55) from the floor on the day, making the most of their opportunities from the charity stripe, hitting on 18 of 23 attempts. Connor Seipel finished with 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds recording his 14th double-double on the season. James Johnson added 13 points with Landon Martin contributing 10 points to the Tiger win.

Game Breakdown

The two sides kept it close as the Tigers and Little Giants started off slow through the early going, looking to extend their advantage out to more than just a basket. The Tigers kept it close until Levi Boettcher drained a three followed by a Seipel layup giving Wittenberg the lead at 18-17. Battling back in forth in the first half, the Tigers trailed 32-29, knocking down 45 percent of their shots from the floor through the first 20 minutes. The Tigers came out strong in the second half with back-to-back steals converting them to made buckets at the opposite end of the floor to kickstart their offense. With 15 minutes to go, Jordan Pumroy hit a triple, capitalizing off the Johnson assist, giving the Tigers a 41-36 lead. This was followed by a Bertemes jumper and another triple by Martin, once again given to him by Johnson. Johnson then nailed his own three to put the Tigers up 50-47 with 10 minutes to go. As the two sides continued to go back and forth down the stretch, Seipel pulled down 3 defensive rebounds, while Bertemes went 2-2 from the charity stripe. The Tigers would not lose their lead after they took off and outscored the Little Giants 19-10 over the final 7 minutes of action, closing the game at 78-69.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 22 to host the Hiram College Terriers for Senior Day from Pam Evans Smith Arena. Tip-Off is set for 3:00 PM.