Tigers Hold Off Wabash In Key NCAC Clash

Springfield, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers put four players in double figures and nearly led from start to finish to pick up a bounceback victory over visiting Wabash.

After seeing a late lead evaporate over the last five minutes at DePauw three days earlier, the Tigers put together perhaps their most complete performance of the 2023-24 season. Wittenberg improved to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). totals that are matched by Wabash. The teams are tied for second place in the league standings, one game behind Denison.

The key to the win for Wittenberg was ball security as the Tigers committed a season-low three turnovers while also outrebounding the Little Giants 31-27. Wittenberg's quality work with the ball led to open looks against the bigger Little Giants, with senior Jeff Queen (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) doing the most damage from long range with a 3-for-3 performance on three-pointers en route to 15 points total.

After missing all eight of his field goal attempts in the first half, junior Trey Killens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason) caught fire in the second half. He made 6-of-8 shots from the floor, including all five of his attempts inside the arc, en route to a game-high 22 points. On at least two occasions, Killens finished in improbable fashion over Wabash's 7-foot-2 center Noah Huppman.

Sophomore Eddie Brown (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and he led both teams with 10 rebounds. In addition, freshman Tyler Galluch (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) added 10 points and sophomore Dawson Scott (New Castle, Indiana/New Castle) finished with eight points, both off the bench.

Wittenberg shot 46 percent from the field, compared to 41 percent for Wabash. The Tigers added 16 successful free throws in 17 attempts in the game.