Wittenberg Cruises Past Capital, 75-46

COLUMBUS, Ohio - It was just one of those nights. One team couldn't miss and the other team couldn't find the range. In a nutshell, the Wittenberg Tigers had a terrific night, shooting better than 60 percent from the field and outrebounding the Capital Crusaders by 19 in a surprisingly comfortable 75-46 victory in Capital's home arena.

Playing their one-time Ohio Athletic Conference rival for the first time in nearly a decade, the Tigers pulled out to a seven-point lead by halftime and then kicked it into overdrive in the final 20 minutes to run away with the huge win. Coming off a tough loss at Washington University on Saturday and still playing without injured standout forward Kenny Brady, the 21st-ranked Tigers were nearly flawless in capturing the easy win and improving to 2-1 on the young season. Capital, which faces North Coast Athletic Conference foes Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster over the weekend, dropped to 2-1.

The key juncture in the game was a 13-0 run to open the second half for the Tigers, a scoring outburst that turned that seven-point haltime lead into a 20-point cushion. It started with a dunk and subsequent three-point play by junior post Daniel Russ off a Capital turnover and it included five points from junior post Dane Borchers. Not coincidentally, that tandem led all scorers in the game, accounting for 19 and 16 points respectively. Borchers added nine rebounds and Russ chipped in with six.

Balance was a key element for the Tigers, as the other players fed off the strong post play. Junior guard Phil Steffes had his best game as a collegian, turning in six points on 2-of-3 shooting from three-point range, three rebounds and four assists. Among several other players who made outstanding contributions, senior guard Kenny Molz was solid off the bench with eight points and three assists in 16 minutes.

For the game, Wittenberg shot a sizzling 61 percent from the field, including a 7-of-15 clip from the free throw line. The rebounding margin was a staggering 43-24, more than offsetting the one negative statistic in the Tigers' final boxscore, that being an 18-11 turnover deficit. The Tiger defense harrassed the Crusaders into a miserable shooting night as Capital hit just 15-of-56 shots, including a paltry 4-of-22 from three-point range.

Wittenberg finally opens the home portion of the 2004-05 schedule on Saturday as Urbana comes calling at 7:30 p.m.