Wooster, OH – The Wittenberg men's basketball team returned to action on Friday night, traveling to the College of Wooster to take on the Fighting Scots. The Tigers took down the Scots 70-67, keeping the intensity and passion of the famous Wittenberg/Wooster rivalry high amongst the empty Timken Arena. In the interest of enhancing the overall student-athlete experience, the coaches at Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster mutually agreed to classify Friday and Saturday's contests as exhibition games on Friday afternoon, as permissible under NCAA policies. This declaration granted both programs flexibility to make alterations to the format of the contests.

Three Tigers tallied double digits on the night, leading the way was James Johnson with 12 points and seven rebounds, adding four assists to his stat line. Ridge Young posted 12 points, converting on 4 of 7 from the floor to go along with four rebounds. Justin Shipman-Curtis recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points and reeling in 11 rebounds on the night.

Game Breakdown

Wittenberg jumped out to a quick lead through the early going, knocking down their first three-point attempts of the game. Johnson ignited the scoring for the Tigers after reeling in a defensive rebound. Young and Levi Boettcher, each added a triple of their own, helping extend the Wittenberg lead. The Tigers would lead by as many as eight points in the first half, holding an 11-3 advantage over the Scots. Wittenberg had to fend off a late run by the Scots, as the Scots took their first lead of the game as 22-21 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the half. Johnson closed out the first half, leading the Wittenberg scoring effort with 10 points with four rebounds. Wittenberg overcame the slim first-half 34-33 deficit, exploding out of the gate with buckets coming from Young and Boettcher. Jeff Queen added to the scoring rally grabbing an offensive rebound and securing the put-back, taking the Tiger lead out to 42-37. The ferocity of the rivalry picked up late in the second half, as the Scots fought their way back into the game with just seven minutes left in the action. Wittenberg closed out the second half, knocking down 54 percent, 13 of 24 from the field. The Tiger defense halted the Wooster attack, holding the Scots to just 11 of 40 from the field in the final 20 minutes.