#10 Wittenberg Fights Past Wabash in NCAC Victory

CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA-- #10 Wittenberg men's basketball traveled to Crawfordsville, Indiana in search of their 14^th win of the season on Wednesday night. The Tigers did just that, upending the Little Giants 72-58 on the road. Wittenberg led by a point at halftime, but managed to pull away by as many as 19 in the second half to secure their seventh conference win. Wabash (6-8, 2-5), shot 14 of 56 from the field on Wednesday night, as the Tigers shot nearly 50% from the floor in the double-digit win. Jordan Pumroy led the way for the Tigers, as the sophomore tallied 15 points on five of six shooting, including a perfect two-of-two from three-point land.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Wittenberg led 11-4 early on, but the Tigers were unable to distance themselves from the Little Giant on their home floor, as Wittenberg clung to a 29-28 lead at the break. The Tigers and Little Giants went back and forth for the first five minutes of play, before Mitchell Balser splashed home his second three-pointer of the half to give the Tigers a 38-33 lead. The first of Pumroy's two three-pointers in the contest grew Wittenberg's lead to 50-41 with 11:07 remaining, as the Tigers would go on a run. With under ten minutes to play in regulation, and the Tigers up 12, James Johnson found Connor Seipel open down-low, firing a one handed, no-look pass to the sophomore post, giving the Tigers a 56-42 lead with 8:04 remaining. In a game that saw 39 total personal fouls, the Tigers held on to a 15-point lead down the stretch, as Wabash's ice-cold shooting from the field continued. The only Little Giant offense came at the charity stripe late in the game, as Wittenberg continued to spread the floor and hit shots from deep, defeating Wabash 72-58.

WHO STOOD OUT: Pumroy continued to do a little bit of everything for Wittenberg, leading the team with 15 points and six rebounds. Balser (13), Chad Roy (13) and Landon Martin (11) served as the Tiger's double-digit scorers on a night that saw the offense connect on 25 of their 51 field goal attempts. Martin's 11 points off the bench came in 17 minutes of action, as the freshman guard also recorded four boards, two steals and two assists. Seipel aided Pumroy in the rebounding efforts, totaling six boards on the night. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Holding Wabash to a dismal 25% shooting from the floor, the Tigers forced Wabash into one bad shot after another. In turn, Wittenberg dominated the paint, outscoring the Little Giants 32-14 down-low, while Wabash jacked up 26 three-pointers in the game, only to connect on seven. The turnover battle was won by Wabash with 10, as the Tigers turned the ball over 12 times in the game, but it was Wittenberg who managed to capitalize. The Tigers turned the ten Wabash turnovers into 16 points, while Wabash only managed to score five points off the 12 Wittenberg miscues. Led by Martin, Wittenberg's bench outscored Wabash 19-9 in the NCAC victory.

UP NEXT: Wittenberg returns to action this Saturday with a 6:00 P.M. contest at the College of Wooster.