Springfield, OH- The D3Hoops.com No.4 team and North Coast Athletic Conference top seed Wittenberg University men's basketball hosted the Fighting Scots of The College of Wooster for the North Coast Athletic Conference Championship game on Saturday afternoon from Pam Evans Smith Arena. Wittenberg fell to the Fighting Scots 87-63 at the end of the day. In the storied matchup between these historic programs, Wittenberg and Wooster have met 14 times in the title game, with the Scots holding a 9-5 advantage in the series lead over the Tigers. Wittenberg finished with three players posting double figures, led by Connor Seipel with 18 points, adding a team-high eight rebounds along with three assists. James Johnson followed up with 11 points and six rebounds, serving up one assist and blocking one shot. Jake Bertemes posted 10 points, adding one rebound, one assist and one steal to his total. Both Johnson and Seipel earned NCAC All-Tournament Team honors on the weekend. Through three games of NCAC Tournament action, Seipel tallied 47 points grabbing 31 rebounds. Johnson followed up his NCAC Tournament MVP season from 2019, recording 41 points and pulling down 24 rebounds on the week.
The Championship- In the Tigers' 18th Championship game appearance, and the Red and White are now 7-9 in NCAC title games. The Tigers have been back-to-back victors between he 2017-18 season and the 2018-19 season. Last season, the Tigers and the Fighting Scots faced off at Wooster for the Championship game, where the Red and White emerged victorious, 79-75.
The Game Breakdown- The Tiger's first points went up with Jake Bertemes drawing a foul and converting on the ensuing free-throws. With 14:42 left to play Rashaad Ali-Shakir drained the first three-pointer for the Tigers, cutting into the Wooster lead in the first half. The Tigers caught up to the Fighting Scots after Ali-Shakir knocked down a three that bounced off the rim, but James Johnson followed up with the offensive rebound and tip-in to knot the game at 12-12. The Red and White snagged their first lead after Seipel drew the foul and was sent to the line, converting the and-one and putting Wittenberg ahead 19-18. The Tigers trailed at the half, for just the fourth time this season heading into the break down 37-34. Wittenberg came out in the second half, looking for an offensive spark. The Tigers continued to find Johnson and Seipel down the stretch, as the two combined for 12 of the 29 second-half points for the Red and White. Wittenberg knocked down 47 percent 11 of 23 in the second half. Bertemes added six of his 10 through the final 20 minutes of action.
Up Next
Wittenberg will wait until Monday afternoon at 12:30 PM when the NCAA Division III Selection Show is broadcast to find out what the rest of their season has to hold.