Springfield, OH- It was a historic night on the campus of Wittenberg University as the Tiger men's basketball team captured the 1,800th win in program history. Securing an exciting 63-51 win over the Oberlin College Yeomen, the Wittenberg Tigers join several NCAA Division I programs to reach this milestone, including the likes of the University of Kentucky, the University of Cincinnati, Purdue University, Indiana University, and other select NCAA Div. I institutions with 1,800-plus wins and counting. In 108 years of varsity competition, the Wittenberg men's basketball program have worked their way to becoming the winningest program in Division III, reaching this milestone the Tigers become the first NCAA DII or DIII program to achieve the 1,800 win mark.
The Wittenberg University men's basketball program could not have achieved this milestone without the leadership of a few great coaches along the way, including Wittenberg's winningest coach in program history, Bill Brown with 483 wins. Other coaching greats, helping the Tigers along the way include, Larry Hunter with 305 wins, Bob Hamilton capturing 119 wins, Eldon Miller with 142 wins, and Ray Mears with 121 wins.
Current head coach Matt Croci has been a part of the Tiger success along the way as both player and a coach, achieving 98 wins during his time in a Wittenberg uniform and now leading his Tigers to his 85th win on the Wittenberg sidelines.
Game Breakdown
The two sides already familiar with one another through one matchup earlier in the season brought the intensity to the second meeting at Pam Evans Smith Arena on Saturday afternoon. In the first half, the Tigers jumped out early before Oberlin came back to take a 30-24 lead into the break. Connor Seipel, lead the Tiger rebounding effort, pulling down five boards through the opening twenty-minutes. Ridge Young lead the Tiger scoring effort with five points, while Wittenberg finished with eight players in the scoring column through the first half.
Coming out of the locker room, the Red and White scored first with a layup from Seipel, setting the momentum for the half. The Tigers tied it up 48-48 with 9:57 left in the game after a layup from Jake Bertemes. Wittenberg would then capture the lead at 8:22 when James Johnson drew the foul and knocked down both free-throw attempts. After snagging the lead, the Red and White held on until they secured the final score, 63-51.
The Stats- Seipel lead the scoring and rebounding effort on the afternoon, recording his 10th double-double of the season, posting 16 points with 10 rebounds. Seipel and Bertemes both lead in assists with 2 apiece. Bertemes added 14 points to his total to go along with two steals. The Tigers shot 42.3% from the floor, 35% from the 3-point line and 70.6% from the free-throw line.
Up Next- The Tigers will host DePauw University at home on Wednesday, Jan. 29th at 7:00 PM.
To commemorate this milestone, the first 500 fans in attendance to Wednesday night's home game against DePauw University, Tiger fans will receive a commemorative 1800th win poster.