Witt can clinch share of NCAC title by beating Wooster

Tigers edged the Scots in Wooster earlier this season.

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:22 PM Friday, February 10, 2012

SPRINGFIELD — The memories of the great Wittenberg-Wooster games linger longer than most. One of the great Division III basketball rivalries has dozens of shining moments.

• Who could forget the last-second shot by Wooster’s James Cooper, the former South High School star, to beat the Tigers in 2005?

• There’s the image of Wittenberg’s Brandan Barabino hitting three straight free throws with 1 second left four years ago to send the game into overtime, and Gregg Hill winning the game in overtime on a last-second layup.

• There are the stunning performances, like Dan Russ scoring 37 points in a triple-overtime loss to Wooster in 2005, or Clayton Black carrying the Tigers to a victory with 30 points last season in Springfield.

• Just two months ago, another instant classic ended with Zach Leahy rebounding an air ball and laying in the game-winning shot at the buzzer to give the Tigers a win in Wooster.

When the teams meet again at 7:30 tonight at Pam Evans Smith Arena, that one basket by Leahy is the only thing standing between them. No. 22 Wittenberg (17-5, 11-2 NCAC) leads No. 13 Wooster (19-3, 10-3 NCAC) by one game with three to play.

The Tigers can clinch a share of the league title for the first time since 2004 with a victory tonight. A win would also give the Tigers the right to host the NCAC tournament because even if they lost their last two games against DePauw and Hiram, they would own the tiebreaker over Wooster.

The seven-time defending champion Scots have the momentum tonight, having won seven straight games. But the Tigers have the home-court advantage. The Wittenberg fans, especially the students, always turn out for the Wooster game. The Tigers’ 76-72 victory in Springfield last February ended with players and students rushing the court.

“You just hope you can parlay that home crowd to your side by playing good and playing hard,” Wittenberg coach Bill Brown said.

Wooster has won seven of the last 10 games in the series. That’s what made Wittenberg’s victory at Wooster in December so important. For once, the Tigers had the early edge on the Scots.

Wittenberg has continued to lead the conference all season, but its lead was trimmed to one game Wednesday when it lost 55-49 at Wabash and Wooster won 54-50 at Ohio Wesleyan.

Now it hosts a Scots team that has grown and changed since December.

“They’re employing two or three more people than they did against us the last time,” Brown said. “Two of those people (Evan Pannell and Jalen Goodwin) didn’t play at all against us last time.”

Wittenberg has become a stronger team since December, too. It was 2-2 when it played the first game at Wooster.

“Our football guys are more on the ground with basketball now,” Brown said. “They hadn’t been around very long then. Other than that, we’ve been pretty consistent with our personnel and style of play.”

The Tigers are coming off their worst offensive game of the season. Their inconsistent free-throw shooting caused problems at Wabash. They made 10-of-19, their second-worst performance of the season.

“I have no explanation for it at all,” Brown said. “Our tactic is to take breaks from practice and shoot free throws and catch our breath and put some kind of competition on it. I don’t know what you do beyond that.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or David.Jablonski@coxinc.com.

Who: Wooster (19-3, 10-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) at Wittenberg (17-5, 11-2 NCAC)

When: 7:30 tonight

Where: Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield

Radio: WUSO-FM (89.1)

Video: client.stretchinternet.com/client/wit.portal#

Series: Wittenberg leads 53-48.

Last meeting: Wittenberg won 56-55 on Dec. 7.

Last game: On Wednesday, Wittenberg lost 56-49 at Wabash, and Wooster won 54-50 at Ohio Wesleyan.

Starting lineups

Wittenberg

Player Ht. Yr. Pos. PPG

Michael Duffy 5-10 Sr. G 0.9

Josh McKee 6-2 Sr. W 9.9

Michael Cooper 6-5 Sr. W 9.5

Alex Brandt 6-7 Sr. P 8.2

Clayton Black 6-7 Sr. P 14.8

Wooster

Justin Hallowell 6-7 Sr. F 11.9

Josh Claytor 6-7 Jr. F 11.5

Xavier Brown 5-11 Fr. G 13.0

Matt Fegan 6-1 Sr. G 7.7

Justin Warnes 6-3 Sr. G 5.8

Scouting report

Wittenberg notes: The 49 points scored against Wabash was Wittenberg’s lowest total since it scored 43 against Wabash on Feb. 18, 2009. ... The Tigers and Scots have won or shared every conference title since 1990, though Allegheny won a share of the title in 1993. ... Nine of the last 17 games in the series have been decided by five points or less.

Wooster notes: Brown scored 20 or more points four times in the first six games, but his last 20-point game was against Wittenberg in December. He has scored in single digits in four of the last six games. ... Hallowell had a season-high 15 rebounds against Ohio Wesleyan.

Women’s game: The Tigers (11-10, 7-6 NCAC) host Wooster (3-18, 2-11 NCAC) at 1 p.m. in the last regular-season home game for the Tigers. Wittenberg’s three-game winning streak ended with a 70-57 loss at Denison on Wednesday. Sarah Watson leads the Tigers with 13.2 points per game.

DAVID JABLONSKI, STAFF WRITER

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