Wednesday, February 27, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — Minutes after the end of this season, Wittenberg men's basketball coach Bill Brown was asked to look ahead to next season.
The Tigers lost 65-63 to Allegheny on Tuesday, Feb. 26, in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament at Pam Evans Smith Arena.
Extras
Wittenberg's David Nowicki looks to pass the ball to his teammate Mark Snyder as he comes up against a wall of Allegheny defenders.
Get latest headlines via RSS feedsThey will return three of their top four scorers next season — juniors Gregg Hill and Kevin Murray and sophomore Mark Snyder — but that is no guarantee of success after a disappointing 16-10 season.
"We don't have scholarships to go out and get people," Brown said. "We work really hard at recruiting. A lot of it's luck. I do believe the harder you work, the luckier you get, and we've worked really hard year after year after year."
But Brown acknowledged his team lacked enough shooters, size and strength to be as successful as in years past.
"Yes, it comes back to me ... but we've got our work cut out for us again this year," Brown said.
Beck gets chance
Junior forward Tim Beck scored 12 points in Wittenberg's first game of the season, played double-digit minutes in the first four games and had played a total of 12 minutes since. Against Allegheny, however, Beck was Wittenberg's leading scorer in the first half with six points.
Brown said the team needed Beck's strength.
"You get to this point in the season, and the game becomes so much more physical than it was at other points in the year," Brown said. "You have to operate at a high level of physicality."
Standout stats
• The Gators and Tigers each hit 23 field goals. Wittenberg made one more free throw. But Allegheny made 8-of-13 3-pointers, and Wittenberg made 5-of-18, missing its first eight attempts.
• Wittenberg trailed by as many as 12 in the first half. It was the fifth time in the last six games the Tigers fell behind by 10 or more points in the first half.
Game postponed
Ohio Wesleyan, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will host Hiram today, Feb. 27. Their game Tuesday was postponed because of bad weather.
Battling Bishops coach Mike DeWitt took advantage of the postponement to scout the Wittenberg-Allegheny game from the press box. His team will face Allegheny if it beats Hiram.
C
ontact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.
Comments
By Wittenberg Fan
March 16, 2008 12:46 PM | Link to this
hey Dawgpound
Obviously you have never played college level b’ball. It takes a great amount of effort from the coaches and players. So you’re wrong—people do care that these talented athletes and coaches are willing to devote their time and energy to play at this level. Just because it’s not Div. I doesn’t mean these guys are doing what most college students cannot….devote time to a sport and maintain their college classes. WAKE UP!
By Wittenberg Fan
March 16, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this
hey Dawgpound
Obviously you have never played college level b’ball. It takes a great amount of effort from the coaches and players. So you’re wrong—people do care that these talented athletes and coaches are willing to devote their time and energy to play at this level. Just because it’s not Div. I doesn’t mean these guys are doing what most college students cannot….devote time to a sport and maintain their college classes. WAKE UP!
By Wittenberg Fan
February 28, 2008 5:46 PM | Link to this
Witt players did as well as they could with an ever changing line-up. You could not ask for more heart from the core group of players. Next year will bring great things for Witt basketball. Go Witt!
By Wittenberg Fan
February 28, 2008 5:41 PM | Link to this
This year the players did the best they could with an ever changing roster. You could not ask for more heart from the core group of players. Next year will be a big year for Witt basketball.
By Alumni
February 27, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this
Inexperience and just not being that good. The NCAC has became a weak conference and that lead us to believe that Witt had a good team since they did well inside the conference. When you look at what they did outside the conference you see they weren’t very good. A bad team can get beat by anybody at anytime
By Spectator
February 27, 2008 1:14 PM | Link to this
looks like everyone wanted to be on spring break
By DAWGPOUND
February 27, 2008 8:32 AM | Link to this
No Leadership. But hey, it is only D-3 Basketball… no one really cares