NCAC tourney is wide open

Regular-season champ Witt is favorite, but it’ll be a tough road to title.

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 10:49 PM Monday, February 20, 2012

SPRINGFIELD — Wittenberg seniors Clayton Black and Sam Gardner have hosted a radio show on WUSO 89.1 FM since they were freshman. They play new music, stuff that’s not often heard on the radio.

“Sam kind of carries the show,” Black said. “We try to stay involved and up to date.”

There’s one song they probably haven’t played, but it’s a song they’d like to hear three times this week: on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

It’s “That’s the Way (I Like It)” by KC and the Sunshine Band. Public address announcer Michael Cooper Sr., himself a former deejay, plays the tune after every victory at Pam Evans Smith Arena.

With three victories this week, the No. 17 Tigers (20-5) would claim their first North Coast Athletic Conference tournament championship since 2006. They start with a 7:30 p.m. home game against No. 8 seed Kenyon (11-14) in the quarterfinals.

Wittenberg beat Kenyon 71-63 on Jan. 11. Even with Black scoring a career-high 38 points, it was a one-point game with 8 minutes to play.

“This year, every game in the first round is going to be a tough game,” Black said. “Kenyon is tough. I got some good looks up there, but they’ve got some big bodies on their team they can throw at me and Alex (Brandt) and slow us down.”

When Wittenberg’s seniors were freshmen, they lost to Kenyon in the first round at home. The last two years, Wittenberg has beaten Wabash in the semifinals and lost to Wooster in the title game. If Wittenberg wins tonight, it will host the semifinals and finals for the first time in seven years.

“To lose in the championship two years in a row, it was hard to swallow,” Black said. “This year, we’ve got the team. Everyone is just as focused as they’ve been in past years. Hopefully, having it at our place will give us the edge we haven’t had in the past.”

The regular-season champion Tigers are the favorite, but it’s a wide-open tournament. Here’s a quick look at the other first-round matchups:

• No. 2 seed Wooster (21-4) plays No. 7 seed DePauw (13-12) in the first round. DePauw has lost seven of its last eight games, but it split the season series with Wooster.

Wooster has won the last three tournament titles and hosted the last seven tournaments.

• No. 5 seed Denison (13-14), one of the hottest teams in the conference with six wins in its last eight games, visits No. 4 seed Wabash. Those teams also split the regular-season series.

• No. 3 seed Ohio Wesleyan (19-6) hosts No. 6 seed Hiram (14-11), one of the two NCAC teams to beat Wittenberg. Ohio Wesleyan swept that season series.

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