Springfield, OH – The Wittenberg men's basketball returned to Pam Evans Smith Arena on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Wabash Little Giants, 76-74. The Tigers were led by James Johnson, posting 15 points and leading the Tigers in rebounds with five. Justin Shipman-Curtis add 15 points of his own, along with Jordan Welch scoring a career-high 13 points. Some early foul trouble in the second half put the Tigers on their heels, after leading the Little Giants 27-23 at the half.

Game Breakdown

After nearly a minute of action elapsed, Levi Boettcher scored the first bucket of the game. The two squads traded buckets through the opening, knotting the game at even three different times in the first half. Jordan Welch went 2 of 2 from beyond the arc, heading into the break with a team-high six points. Johnson, Boettcher and Harrison Gough each added five points through the opening 20-minutes. The Tiger defense held strong through the opening half, holding the Little Giants to 10 of 24 shooting from the field. Wittenberg edged out Wabash in the rebounding category, holding a 14-13 advantage while knocking down nearly 48 percent of their shots from the floor. Johnson and Shipman-Curtis came alive in the second half, with Johnson scoring 10 of his 15 points, and Shipman-Curtis tallied 10 points. After the second half started the Tigers were hit with four quick fouls, as Wabash went on to knock down 62 percent of their shots, throughout the remainder. Daniel Asher provided a spark of the bench for the Red and White, posting eight points and grabbing two rebounds in his home debut.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7:00 PM, hosting the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan University.