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On this date in area sports history…
On this date seven years ago, Jan. 26, 2002, Wittenberg beat Wooster 75-70 to stay tied atop the NCAC standings.
The Tigers made 11 3-pointers in the victory. Click the jump for the complete story.
Published in the Jan. 27, 2002 edition of the News-Sun:
WITT STOPS SCOTS, SAVES SEASON
TIGERS NOW TIED WITH WOOSTER ATOP NCAC WITH A REMATCH LOOMING FEB. 16
By KEITH WALTHER, News-Sun Sports Writer
There was no stirring pep talk from coach Bill Brown before the game. Sometimes nothing needs to be said.
To be sure, the Wittenberg Tigers knew this one was a must-win, a gotta-have-it venture. A loss at home to Wooster and they could forget about defending their North Coast Athletic Conference crown and, quite possibly, a future NCAA tournament berth.
But, after posting a 75-70 victory over Wooster in front of 2,420 fans at the HPER Center Saturday night, all the Tigers’ dreams live on.
“If I needed to say anything special tonight, I was really going to be in trouble,” Brown said. “When you look at Wooster’s remaining schedule, it probably was a must-win. It’s difficult in this league to ever lose one at home and still win a conference championship.”
The Tigers (16-3), who were coming off a shocking setback at Wabash on Wednesday, move into a first place tie in the NCAC with the Scots (15-4). Both teams are 9-1 in league play with a return match at Wooster slated for Feb. 16.
“They played with a lot of effort and desire,” a gracious Wooster coach Steve Moore said. “They would have been highly motivated either way (but) I’m sure they played with even more motivation having lost that game (at Wabash).”
“I think the Wabash loss opened our eyes a little bit. It certainly made this game that much more important for us to win,” said Wittenberg sophomore Rod Emmons. “Nothing was really said though. Everyone just knew it was a must-win. I mean, it’s Wooster. No one needs to get you pumped up for Wooster.”
Emmons, who finished with 11 points off the bench including three 3-pointers, scored on a baseline drive with the shot clock showing :01 to give the Tigers a 72-67 lead with 39 seconds remaining.
Antwyan Reynolds, Wooster’s all-conference guard, missed a shot, and Emmons rebounded and was fouled with 25.2 seconds left. At that point, some of the Tigers began celebrating, urging the student section on as they chanted, “Just like football” to the Wooster fans in attendance, referring to Wittenberg’s 47-13 gridiron victory over the Scots last fall.
But Emmons missed both free throws — not a surprise given the fact Witt was a putrid 10 of 20 from the charity stripe for the game — and Ryan Snyder scored for Wooster to cut the lead to 72-69 with 19.4 seconds left.
As Wittenberg tried to in-bound against full-court pressure, point guard Mark Borland was called for an offensive foul in his struggle to get open. Wooster’s Matt Smith made the first free throw to make it 72-70 but missed the second. Wittenberg’s Brian Gratsch scraped down the rebound, was fouled, and made one of two freebies to give the Tigers a 73-70 advantage with 18.3 remaining.
After a time out, Wooster came down the floor looking for a 3-point opportunity. The Tigers, however, defended the perimeter well, and Bryan Nelson’s off-balance 25-footer was off the mark. Danny Brywczynski pulled down the rebound with less than a second left and was fouled. The freshman sank two free throws for the final margin.
“Obviously, we were trying to get a 3-point shot there,” Moore said of the Scots’ final trip down the floor. “But in hindsight, maybe we could have gone inside, scored and then fouled again. But give them credit, they defended it well.”
Trailing 10-8, the Tigers began to flex their muscles defensively, holding the Scots to just one field goal over the next eight minutes while building a 25-12 lead. Wittenberg went on to take a 36-28 halftime advantage.
“They were getting lay-ups and free throws early on and I told the guys, `Hey fellas, let’s make them score away from the basket,’ ” Brown said.
“I think we went nine straight possessions without scoring and had five turnovers during that time,” Moore groaned. “We struggled offensively in the first half, and that was a big key.”
But the Scots erased a nine-point second half deficit behind the inside work of Nelson (24 points) and drew even with the Tigers on four occasions (42, 47, 52 and 64-apiece) but could never regain the lead.
“Wittenberg kept coming through with some big plays. They hit some crucial 3-pointers on us — and several different guys came through for them,” Moore said.
Indeed, if not for Wittenberg’s 11 of 22 shooting from beyond the arc, the Tigers likely would have suffered a second straight NCAC loss. Greg Rustad, Peter Walker, Chad Mossing and Emmons each hit treys in the second half to help ward off Wooster.
Borland paced the Tigers with 12 points and five assists. Walker, Gratsch and Mossing added nine apiece, and Harris and Rustad each chipped in eight.
“This was probably the biggest must-win since I’ve been here,” Harris said. “It was pretty much the same situation last year — we had one loss and they were undefeated coming into our game with them here. But this seemed different somehow. More urgent in some way.”
WOOSTER (70) — Smith 2-8 1-2 5, Mealer 2-7 0-0 6, Nelson 8-11 8-10 24, Mitchell 3-5 2-2 9, Reynolds 5-11 0-0 13, Snyder 1-4 4-4 6, Sims 1-3 1-1 3, Carlisle 0-0 0-0 0, Schlingman 1-1 2-2 4. Totals: 23-50 18-21 70.
WITTENBERG (75) — Mossing 3-7 3-6 9, Longley 2-7 0-1 4, Harris 4-7 0-1 8, Rustad 3-7 0-0 8, Borland 3-7 5-6 12, Emmons 4-7 0-2 11, Brywczynski 0-0 2-2 2, Bucheit 1-2 0-0 3, Walker 4-5 0-0 9, Gratsch 3-9 3-8 9. Totals: 27-58 10-20 75.
Halftime: Wittenberg 36-28. Three-Point goals: Wooster 6-20 (Smith 0-5, Mealer 2-5, Nelson 0-3, Mitchell 1-1, Reynolds 3-5, Snyder 0-1), Wittenberg 11-22 (Mossing 3-6, Emmons 3-6, Rustad 2-4, Walker 1-1, Bucheit 1-2, Borland 1-2, Longley 0-1). Rebounds: Wooster 30 (Mealer 9), Wittenberg 37 (Longley 7). Assists: Wooster 9 (Smith 3), Wittenberg 18 (Borland 5). Total fouls: Wooster 23, Wittenberg 19. Technical Fouls: none. Fouled Out: none. Records: Wooster 15-4, 9-1 NCAC; Wittenberg 16-3, 9-1 NCAC. A: 2,420.
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