Springfield, OH- The D3Hoops.com No. 4 and North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament top seed Wittenberg University men's basketball team hosted the Yeomen of Oberlin College for their third match-up of the season, taking down the Yeomen 67-47 and punching their ticket to their 16th NCAC Tournament final game. In both games earlier this season, the Tigers beat out the Yeomen by 10 or more, as the Red and White battled back on the road to take down Oberlin in the first matchup. Connor Seipel lead in both points and rebounds, recording a double-double in both games against the Yeomen on the season. The Yeomen would slow Seipel on the boards in the semifinal game, holding the senior big man to six rebounds and finishing with 11 points. James Johnson led the Tiger scoring effort with 22 points on the night while cleaning up on the boards with nine rebounds and a blocked shot. It would end up being a milestone night for Johnson, as he becomes the second Tiger this season to eclipse the 1,000 point mark, joining teammates Jake Bertemes and Connor Seipel. Four Tigers finished in double-figures on the night, with Bertemes and Rashaad Ali-Shakir each adding 11 points apiece for the Red and White.
The Semifinals History- Wittenberg joined the NCAC ahead of the 1989-90 season, looking back, hosting the semifinal action nine times from Pam Evans Smith Arena, the Tigers move to 16-9 all-time in semifinal contests. The Tigers have made 30 appearances in NCAC Tournament play, with this season being the 31st. Last season, the Red and White hit the road and beat Wabash College in the semifinal matchup from the College of Wooster, 89-75.
The Game Breakdown- Seipel opened up the game, scoring 20 seconds into the half with a layup. The Tigers jumped out to a quick lead early on, at the 16:10 mark, Johnson knocked down his first three-pointer of the night and put the Tigers ahead 9-2. Seipel pushed the Tiger lead out to 11-6 following up with a made jumper. There were back-to-back fouls from the Yeomen that sent Bertmes to the line for two, helping extend the Wittenberg advantage. With thirty seconds left in the half, Johnson knocked down a 3-pointer from Ridge Young and put the Tigers to 30-22. Wittenberg knocked down 11 of 25 shots from the floor in the first half, converting on 5 of 9 from the charity stripe. The Red and White played lockdown defense through the first twenty minutes, holding Oberlin to less than 10 made field goals and just one made a three-pointer.
The Tigers extended their lead coming out of the gate in the second half, going on a 7-0 run. The Red and White quickly jumped ahead with layups from Seipel and a jumper from Johnson. There was 10:03 left to play when Bertemes headed to the line for two and increased the Tiger lead to 10, 46-36. With 5:56 left to play, Johnson hammered home a dunk off the assist from Levi Boettcher that pushed the Tigers ahead 59-36. Wittenberg would ease their way to the finals, closing out their semifinal victory, 67-47.
Up Next- Wittenberg will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 29 to take on the College of Wooster Fighting Scots in the NCAC Conference Championship at 4:00 PM from Pam Evans Smith Arena.