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Tough week ahead for Tigers men

Games with Wabash tonight and Wooster Saturday are pivotal.

Wittenberg's Zack Leahy (left) had 15 points in Saturday's game against Allegheny at Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield. Wittenberg won 79-72. Staff Photo by Barbara J. Perenic

Barbara Perenic Wittenberg's Zack Leahy (left) had 15 points in Saturday's game against Allegheny at Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield. Wittenberg won 79-72. Staff Photo by Barbara J. Perenic

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:21 PM Tuesday, February 7, 2012

SPRINGFIELD — “Hell Week” has arrived for the Wittenberg men’s basketball team. At least that’s what senior Josh McKee called it after Saturday’s 79-72 victory over Allegheny, according to sophomore Zach Leahy.

The Tigers can smell their first North Coast Athletic Conference regular-season title since 2004, but there’s still work to do.

First No. 22 Wittenberg visits Wabash at 7:30 tonight. The Tigers have lost three straight games in Crawfordsville, Ind., including 70-59 a year ago when they needed a victory to clinch a share of the title.

Then at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, seven-time defending champion Wooster (18-3, 9-3 NCAC) travels to Springfield. Despite starting 0-2 in conference play, the No. 13 Scots have persevered, and now they’re the only other team with any real chance of winning the title.

“This week is pretty much the deciding factor for the whole season,” said Leahy, a sophomore guard.

Of course, if Wooster loses at Ohio Wesleyan tonight and Wittenberg wins at Wabash, the Tigers will clinch a share of the title tonight.

The Tigers (17-4, 11-1 NCAC) haven’t had an easy week all season, and in the last month, they’ve had only one relatively easy victory. That was the 61-43 victory over Wabash on Jan. 17. Their four victories since then have all been decided in the final 10 minutes.

At least Wittenberg has found out who it can count on when it needs free throws with the game on the line. Leahy has become that guy. He’s shooting 68 percent from the line this season, but 81 percent (27-of-33) in the last five games.

Leahy hit most of those free throws in the final two minutes.

“At the beginning of the year, I was really struggling at the free-throw line (8-of-19 in the first eight games),” he said. “I’ve had kind of a bad year at the line, but the team has really trusted me at the end of the game. Coach (Bill Brown) has put the trust in me by putting me in there.”

Leahy continues to come off the bench, but he’s one of five players to play more than 20 minutes per game and ranks third on the team with 9.8 points per outing. He had 15 points Saturday, his third straight double-digit game.

Leahy has scored 27 percent of his points at the line.

“Sometimes I lose a little focus, but when I focus in, I can shoot my free throws pretty well,” he said. “Free throws are 80 percent mental. When you’re tired, it definitely makes a difference, but it’s mostly mental.”

WITTENBERG-WABASH TIPOFF TIPS

Who: Wittenberg (17-4, 11-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) at Wabash (15-6, 7-5 NCAC)

When: 7:30 tonight

Where: Chadwick Court in Crawfordsville, Ind.

Radio: WUSO-FM (89.1)

Video: Link available at sports.Wabash.edu.

Series: Wittenberg leads 32-10.

Last meeting: Wittenberg won 61-43 on Jan. 18.

Last game: On Saturday, Wittenberg beat Allegheny 79-72, and Wabash lost 77-59 at Wooster.

Starting lineups

Wittenberg

Player Ht. Yr. Pos. PPG

Michael Duffy 5-10 Sr. G 1.0

Josh McKee 6-2 Sr. W 9.9

Michael Cooper 6-5 Sr. W 9.6

Alex Brandt 6-7 Sr. P 8.0

Clayton Black 6-7 Sr. P 15.2

Wabash

Aaron Zinnerman 6-2 Sr. G 13.9

Derek Bailey 6-5 Sr. F 14.6

Brian Shelbourne 6-3 Sr. G 9.3

Houston Hodges 5-8 Fr. G 6.4

Nick Curosh 6-7 Sr. C 5.2

Scouting report

Wittenberg notes: The Tigers outscored Wabash 18-3 at the free-throw line in the first game and led by at least 15 points for the final 16 minutes. ... Wittenberg hit 11 3-pointers in its last game. That was the first time it hit more than nine this season. Last season, the Tigers hit 10 or more 3-pointers nine times. ... Just 20 points separate Cooper and McKee in careering scoring. Cooper has 659, and McKee 639. ... Black is on his way to becoming the first player to lead the Tigers in scoring in consecutive seasons since B.J. Harris in 2002 and 2003.

Wabash notes: The Little Giants have lost four of their last six games. Wabash is 7-2 at home. ... Wabash had its worst shooting game of the season in its last game (33 percent), including 7-of-27 from 3-point range (26 percent).

Women’s game: The Tigers play at Denison at 7:30 tonight. Wittenberg improved to 11-9 and 7-5 in the NCAC by beating second-place Allegheny 87-76 on Saturday. It’s the first time this season the Tigers have been two games over .500. The Tigers are tied for fourth place with Denison. The top four teams host first-round games in the NCAC tournament.

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