SPRINGFIELD, OH - While they were able to keep it close throughout the game, the Wittenberg Tigers couldn't overcome visiting Ohio Wesleyan and wound up dropping their North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opener, 70-62, on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 7, at Pam Evans Smith Arena, part of the Health, Wellness & Athletics (HWA) Complex.
The Battling Bishops jumped out to an early lead, taking a 34-28 advantage to the locker room at the half, and OWU outscored Wittenberg 36-34 in the second half to hold on for the win. The Bishops' largest lead was just nine points, 39-30, with 17:50 remaining in the second half.
However, the Tigers didn't just roll over in the second half. Several times they cut the lead to three, and with just over three minutes remaining, the Tigers made their most significant charge, closing to within one point at 61-60 on a layup by Trey Killens (Cincinnati, OH / Mason). But Ohio Wesleyan held the Tigers to just two points the rest of the way, going on a 9-2 run to close out the game and claim the victory. There were only two ties on the day and one lead change - Wittenberg's only lead of the game was 2-0 in the opening minutes.
With the win, Ohio Wesleyan improves to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the NCAC. Wittenberg drops to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
Witt was led in scoring by Eddie Brown (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy Orange), who tossed in 15 points. Killens added 13, and Tyler Galluch (Springfield, OH/Catholic Central) had 11. Brown also led the team in rebounds with six and tallied two assists. Galluch had two steals and two assists.
Wittenberg shot 42.6 percent from the field, going 23-for-54, and just 25 percent from three-point land at 6-for-24. The Bishops outrebounded Wittenberg 34-24 and each team had nine assists. Wittenberg had 11 turnovers to Ohio Wesleyan's 10.
Three players scored in double digits for Ohio Wesleyan with Isaac Ward leading the way with 20 points, followed by Jesse Battle with 18 and Henry Hinkle with 16. Tony Carter had a game-high 14 rebounds.
Wittenberg has a week off from competition to focus on exams before hitting the road next Saturday, Dec. 14, to take on Hiram at 2 p.m.