Tigers Play Well, But Not Well Enough In Losing NCAA Division III Second Round Game

GREENCASTLE, Ind. - All season, there had been few mountains too large to climb for the Wittenberg University Tiger mens basketball team. On Saturday, the peak that the Tigers encountered at DePauw University in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament was exactly that. The Tigers rallied valiantly late in the game, but they eventually ran out of time, falling to DePauw 89-76.

The loss ends Wittenbergs season after North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships. The Tigers, who defeated Franklin College at home on Thursday to move into the second round, conclude the 2001-02 campaign with a sparkling 26-4 overall record.

The Tigers fell behind 51-42 by the end of a frenetic first half in which DePauw shot 59 percent from the field and matched Wittenberg's nation-leading prowess on the boards 17-17. The seventh-ranked Tigers of DePauw, champions of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and owners of a 23-3 record, pulled away from a 24-24 tie to outscore Wittenberg 27-18 in the final 10 minutes of the half.

n the second 20 minutes, Wittenberg got down by as much as 18 points midway through the half before rallying to within nine points three different times. But DePauw showed why it has been ranked in the top 10 in the nation all season, responding at key points and holding their own against the Tigers on the glass and coming up with several clutch turnovers and resulting baskets. For the game, DePauw, which is averaging better than 51 percent shooting from the field for the season, knocked down 54 percent of its shots and turned the ball over just eight times. Four of the DePauw Tigers' five starters were in double figures, including junior forward Joe Nixon, who was 7-for-7 shooting in the first half and 8-for-10 for the game.

Wittenberg was paced offensively by sophomore guard Rod Emmons, who hit five of his first six shots in the game and finished with a team-high 21 points. The Tigers, who shot just 38 percent from the field in the game and struggled from the free throw line at key points in the second half en route to a 62 percent success rate, also got double figure scoring performances from junior center B.J. Harris, who had his 12th double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, junior forward Kevin Longley with 11 points and sophomore forward Peter Walker with 10 points.