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On this date in area sports history …
Eight years ago on this date, Jan. 27, 2001, Wittenberg defeated Oberlin, led by interim coach Mike Cavey, a former Tiger. Complete story on the jump.
WITTENBERG MEN CLAW EX-TIGER
By KEITH WALTHER, News-Sun Sports Writer
For a victory over his alma mater, the Wittenberg Tigers, Mike Cavey would have, without hesitation, traded all his previous victories as a head coach.
All four of them.
Instead, the 1999 Wittenberg grad — now the interim head coach at Oberlin College — watched his Yeomen play the Tigers tight in the first half, only to crumble over the final 20 minutes, on their way to an 85-50 loss Saturday at the HPER Center.
“I was extremely excited. Ever since I got this job, this has been the game I’ve been counting down to,” Cavey said. “It was definitely one I wanted. I told the team before the game, `It would make my entire season if you win this for me.’ ”
And, to his credit, Cavey had his team, 4-13 and 1-9 in North Coast Athletic Conference play, believing it could pull the upset.
The Tigers led early, 6-5, but the fired-up Yeomen took control, led by as many as six points (14-8) and were still tied, 26-26, with under four minutes left in the first half.
But Wittenberg, 15-2 and 9-1 NCAC, withstood the charge and managed a 34-28 lead at halftime. With 16 minutes left in the game, the Tigers still only led by seven, 41-34. But a 21-2 Wittenberg run left Oberlin in the dust. By the time it was over, every player on the Tiger bench had seen action.
“Did I think we could win? If we played the perfect game and Wittenberg struggled a little bit, who knows?” Cavey said. “I do know that first half was the best half of basketball we have played all year. We had them reeling. We just couldn’t sustain it.”
Wittenberg Coach Bill Brown cited his team’s superior depth as the reason for Oberlin’s second half slide.
“Oberlin was really excited about playing and believed they had a chance,” he said. “They had a lot of energy, an emotional approach. But that emotional approach uses some energy, too — and they used a lot of it in the first half. I think there is no question we wore them down.”
A little firing up of his own team at the intermission didn’t hurt, either.
“We have the tendency of not taking teams for real and we didn’t come out as aggressive as we should have and Coach reminded us of that,” said Kevin Longley, who paced the Tigers with 15 points and nine rebounds. “But we came out and played our game in the second half. We knew we would put them away.”
And they did it on the glass. Indeed, the difference in Wittenberg’s energy level, coupled with Oberlin’s increasing fatigue, resulted in a plus-14 rebounding margin for the Tigers in the second half.
“Right before we went out on the floor (for the second half), I said, `Guys, this is probably indicative of our intensity that we only have a plus-one rebounding margin (15-14) in the first half,’ ” said Brown. “We challenged our guys to play harder and they kept their poise and kept grinding.”
That, according to Cavey, is what he would expect out of a Wittenberg squad.
“The thing with good teams is, you can challenge them like that and they will respond — which I’m sure Bill did at halftime,” Cavey said. “I think that is exactly what they did.”
Wittenberg senior Chris Fillmore, a fifth-year senior, said the team never panicked.
“We took a good shot from them in that first half,” Fillmore said. “Being Wittenberg, we get a lot of teams’ best shots. I guess that has to be a staple of a good team that we came out and got it done.”
And, while Cavey’s dream of his team being able to get it done Saturday was not realized, he still relished the surreal experience of coaching where he once played.
“It was definitely weird, a strange feeling, sitting there coaching,” Cavey noted. “To think I played with Chris Fillmore and Ryan Taylor and here I was trying to find ways to stop them.
“But it was a great experience coming back here. I had three great years here and don’t regret anything. I made great friends and am doing what I love to do right now. So everything worked out well.”
As they did for the Tigers, who remain deadlocked with Wooster — a 90-80 winner over Earlham Saturday — atop the NCAC standings. Wittenberg hosts Earlham Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
OBERLIN (50) — Elrod 4-11 0-0 8, Eremic 1-3 0-0 3, Buchanan 3-4 4-5 10, Knight 5-19 5-6 16, Leverett 1-3 1-3 3, Crowder 1-1 0-0 2, Hill 1-1 0-0 2, Alschuler 0-1 0-0 0, MacDonald 3-5 0-0 6, Pierce 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 19-50 10-14 50.
WITTENBERG (85) — R. Taylor 4-8 3-3 12, Longley 6-9 3-5 15, Fillmore 2-6 2-2 6, Rustad 3-6 1-1 9, Krauss 1-2 0-0 3, Borland 3-6 2-2 9, Mossing 0-5 2-2 2, J. Taylor 0-0 1-3 1, Welp 1-1 0-0 3, Emmons 0-2 0-0 0, Harris 3-6 3-3 9, Dietrich 0-0 1-2 1, Walker 3-8 0-0 9, Gratsch 2-4 2-4 6. Totals: 28-63 20-27 85.
Halftime: Wittenberg, 34-28. Three-point goals: Oberlin 2-14 (Knight 1-7, Eremic 1-3, Elrod 0-3, Leverett 0-1), Wittenberg 9-27 (Walker 3-4, Rustad 2-5, R. Taylor 1-5, Krauss 1-2, Borland 1-1, Welp 1-1, Mossing 0-4, Emmons 0-2, Longley 0-1, Harris 0-1, Fillmore 0-1). Shooting percentages: Oberlin .380, Wittenberg .444. Rebounds: Oberlin 27 (Knight 6), Wittenberg 42 (Harris 10). Total fouls: Oberlin 24, Wittenberg 16. Fouled out: Pierce. Technical fouls: None. Assists: Oberlin 10 (Elrod 3), Wittenberg 13 (R. Taylor 3, Krauss 3, Harris 3). Turnovers: Oberlin 17, Wittenberg 10. Officials: Bill Cook, Brad Wilkins, John Gurney. Records: Oberlin 4-13, 1-9 NCAC; Wittenberg 15-2, 9-1. A: 827.
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