LAS VEGAS, NV - Wittenberg Men's Basketball jumped out to a big first-half lead and then hit the big shots down the stretch to hold off Edgewood for a 71-66 win in the Tigers' first game of the D3Hoops.com Classic at South Point Arena.

The victory evened Wittenberg's record at 5-5 overall, heading into a second D3Hoops.com Classic game against Hardin-Simmons that tips off at 11 p.m. (EST) Monday, Dec. 30, also at South Point Arena. Edgewood fell to 2-10 overall with its second narrow loss in as many days at the D3Hoops.com Classic.

After Wittenberg scored the first five points of the game, Edgewood finally broke the ice with its first basket after three scoreless minutes to start a seven-point run. The Tigers responded with a 9-0 run, and by halftime the lead was 35-26. Over the final 20 minutes, Edgewood chipped away at the Wittenberg lead but couldn't get any closer than three points.

Trey Killens (Cincinnati, OH / Mason) scored 11 of his game-high 23 points in the final six minutes of the game to do his part in keeping Wittenberg in the lead. His career point total is now 1,137, putting him 25th in Wittenberg history, just three points behind B.J. Harris '03 and seven points behind Chad Roy '18.

Killens hit 9-of-15 shots from the field in the game, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, to lead a stellar shooting performance for the Tigers. As a team, Wittenberg shot 51.9% from the field, its second-best shooting game of the 2024-25 season, and the Tigers were 6-of-14 from long distance (42.9%), also its second-best of the season.

Killens also dished out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds as the Tigers won the battle of the boards, 39-30. Eddie Brown (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy Orange) led the way with nine rebounds to go along with seven points, four assists, and three blocked shots. Cameron Harrison (Eaton, OH / National Trail) was the only other Tigers to score in double figures as he finished with 13 points, while Daniel Asher (Indianapolis, IN / Roncalli) had his best game of the season so far with seven points and four rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.