Springfield, OH – The D3Hoops.com No. 22 Wittenberg men's basketball team returned to action from the Great Lakes Invitational, hosted by Marietta College on Saturday afternoon. Wittenberg was set with a rematch from the opening round of the 2020 NCAA DIII Tournament, taking on La Roche University. The Tigers came away with the Round of 64 win over the Redhawks by a final score of 83-66, as the Red and White would continue to advance on to the Sweet 16 before the tournament got called off. Though four Tigers finished scoring in double figures, Wittenberg fell in their second game of the weekend, 89-83. Wittenberg converted on 28 of 53 from the floor, including 11 of 24 from beyond the arc. The Tigers found their spark in the second half, outscoring La Roche 51-44 through the final 20 minutes of action.
For the second consecutive game, Ridge Young led the Tiger scoring effort with a team-high 22 points, knocking down 7 of 11 from the field, converting on six of seven from the charity stripe. Young facilitated the Tiger offense, serving up a team-high five assists. Landon Martin was the second Tiger to tally 20 points, scoring on 8 of 15 field goal attempts. Martin would lead the Wittenberg rebounding effort, pulling down five boards, dishing out two assists and coming up with two steals. Both James Johnson and Brice Hill knocked down 3 of 6 attempts from beyond the arc on the day. Johnson finished with 17 points, blocking two shots on the defensive end to go along with three defensive boards.
Wittenberg trailed La Roche 45-32 at the break, led by Martin and Johnson with eight points each. The Tigers converted on 10 of 27 shooting from the floor, with six assists on the 10 made baskets. Young came on strong again in the second-half, hitting 7 of 8 from the field for 20 of his 22 points.
NCAC LEADERS
Through the Tigers first two games of the season, Young leads the NCAC averaging 22 points per game. The senior also sits in the top two spots for FG% and 3pt FG%, shooting 76.2 (2nd) from the floor and 66.7 (1st) from beyond the arc. Levi Boettcher has converted on 4 of 8 attempts from deep range, putting him in the fourth spot on the 3pt FG% list after the opening weekend.
UP NEXT
Wittenberg will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 23 traveling to Hanover College. Tip-Off against the Panthers is set for 7:00 PM.