Wittenberg Cruises Past Hiram
The Wittenberg Tigers had to wait an extra two days thanks to the Blizzard of 2005, or at least its impact on the northern half of Ohio, but they kept their game sharp with a 78-46 rout of Hiram on Monday on the Terriers home court.
HIRAM, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers had to wait an extra two days thanks to the Blizzard of 2005, or at least its impact on the northern half of Ohio, but they kept their game sharp with a 78-46 rout of Hiram on Monday on the Terriers home court.
The Tigers, ranked 13th in the nation, improved to 15-2 by winning their 10th straight game. Wittenberg remained in a first-place tie with Wooster at 7-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Hiram, which hasn't defeated Wittenberg since 1967 and has an all-time record of 2-47 against the Tigers, dropped to 3-14 overall and 2-6 in the NCAC.
The layoff did little to slow the building momentum of Wittenberg's season as the Tigers raced out to an 8-0 lead to start the game and never looked back. By halftime, Wittenberg stretched the lead to 25-14, and then in the second half, an 18-4 run midway through the frame put things out of reach.
Wittenberg showed tremendous balance in this one, as almost everyone who made the snowy trip saw action and made it into the scoring column. Junior post Daniel Russ led with 11 points and six rebounds, junior wing Kenny Brady added 11 points and five rebounds in just 18 minutes off the bench, senior guard Kenny Molz chipped in with 10 points and four boards, junior guard Phil Steffes finished with 10 points and junior post Dane Borchers was solid as usual with eight points and a game-high eight rebounds.
Hiram got a game-high 17 points from A.J. White and 15 points and five boards from Carlton Dean. The Terriers were harrassed into just 31 percent shooting from the field and were outrebounded 48-37 by the Tigers, who rank second nationally in rebound margin.
Next up for the Tigers is a home date with the Earlham College Quakers, who have reeled off five straight wins in the NCAC to move into second place. Tip is slated for 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 26.