Springfield, OH – The No. 3 Wittenberg men's basketball team returned to Pam Evans Smith Arena, taking on the Gators from Allegheny College. The Tigers moved to 5-0 on the season and 3-0 NCAC action with a 78-60 win over the Gators. Five Tigers tallied double figures on the evening, led by James Johnson with 17 points, going along with four rebounds and three blocked shots. Connor Seipel tallied his fourth double-double of the season, putting up 10 points while pulling down 10 rebounds. Jake Bertemes put up 14 points, adding four rebounds, three steals, and one assist on the night.

Game Breakdown

Wittenberg was forced to overcome an early Allegheny lead in the first half, as the Gators went on a 5-0 run to start the game. As Wittenberg was able to get some shots to roll in after the first five minutes of action elapsed, the Tigers began to chip away at the Allegheny advantage. Johnson, the Wittenberg leading scorer would provide defensive fuel with shot block, kicking-off a Tiger scoring-run with just under 12-minutes in the half. Jordan Pumroy scooped up the loose ball and put up the fast-break lay in. Rashaad Ali-Shakir posted seven first-half points off the bench for the Red and White, finishing the day with 10 points along with one assist. The Tigers would put up another strong defensive effort just a minute later, as Johnson came up with another big shot rejection, leading to an Ali-Shakir three-pointer. The momentum would shift in favor of the Tigers, as Wittenberg held a 15-14 lead with just under 10 minutes in the first half. Wittenberg remained disciplined at the defensive end of the floor, as the Tiger's didn't commit their first foul of the game until under six minutes until the half. Landon Martin led the Tiger scoring effort at the break with 10 points, adding five rebounds. Jake Bertemes tallied eight points in the first half, picking up two steals and a blocked shot. Wittenberg tallied seven blocked shots in the first half, winning the battle on the boards 20-18. Though Allegheny put the first points of the second half on the board, back-to-back made jumpers from Bertemes and Pumroy kept the Wittenberg advantage at 42-35. Johnson stepped into a knockdown three-pointer assisted by Martin, extending the Tiger lead out to 10 points, 47-37. Coming out of the Allegheny timeout, Johnson took off slamming home the alley-oop from Pumroy. Brice Hill helped create some separation knocking down the three-ball assisted by Ali-Shakir, taking the Tiger lead out to 54-40 and forcing an Allegheny timeout. Wittenberg maintained a 58-44 advantage with just under 10 minutes in the game. The Tigers knocked down 16 of 32 shots in the second half, converting on 5 of 12 from beyond the arc.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will hit the road after finals, traveling to Bridgewater, VA for the Bridgewater College Holiday Classic on Saturday, Dec. 14 & Sunday, Dec. 15. The Red and White will take on host Bridgewater on day one at 4:00 PM. The Tigers will return to action for day two of the classic at 1:00 PM where they will face off against Eastern Mennonite University.