Roundup: Tigers Still Tied for Top

Wittenberg picked up a pair of wins last week and remains tied for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference with Wooster.

The Tigers scored an 87-72 win at Denison (Jan. 24), then rolled in the second half for an 85-50 victory over Oberlin (Jan. 27).

At Denison, Wittenberg used a 20-0 run early in the game to build a 46-31 halftime lead, then used a three-point goal by senior forward Ryan Taylor (Waynesfield, Ohio/Goshen) to pull away, after Denison had moved to within eight points with four minutes left in the game.

Senior center Chris Fillmore (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) had a game and season-high 21 points to lead the Tigers. Sophomore forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) added a career-high 20 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Taylor had 10 points.

Wittenberg shot 56 percent (28 of 50) from the field and a season high 86.7 percent (26 of 30) from the free throw line.

The Tigers struggled in the first half with a determined Oberlin team, led by interim head coach Mike Cavey, a 1999 Wittenberg graduate. The Yeomen opened up a six-point lead in the first four minutes and led for a large part of the first 20 minutes.

Wittenberg took a 34-28 halftime lead and blew the game open with a 21-2 run early in the second half.

Longley led the Tigers with 15 points and was named the NCAC player of the week, Taylor had 12 and sophomore backup center B.J. Harris (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) added a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Tigers host third place Earlham on Wednesday, then head north to face Hiram on Saturday.