Witt men bounce back to beat Wesleyan

Tigers still have a shot at 1 of top 4 NCAC tourney seeds after 82-75 victory.

Wittenberg's Chris Sullivan, shown shooting during a game last season, scored a scored 15 points during a win over Ohio Wesleyan Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010.

Staff photo by Bill Lackey Writer: Wittenberg's Chris Sullivan, shown shooting during a game last season, scored a scored 15 points during a win over Ohio Wesleyan Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010.

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Staff Reports Updated 8:29 AM Thursday, February 4, 2010

DELAWARE — The Wittenberg University men’s basketball team had lost three games in a row at Ohio Wesleyan’s Branch Rickey Arena, a streak dating back to 2006.

The Tigers overcame that recent history and an even more-recent slump that saw them lose three of four games in the North Coast Athletic Conference to win 82-75 on Wednesday, Feb. 3.

Wittenberg also fought back after a 24-6 run by Ohio Wesleyan turned a 16-point lead into a two-point deficit early in the second half.

“We’re really proud of the way the guys bounced back on the road against a quality opponent,” Wittenberg coach Bill Brown said.

The victory keeps the Tigers in the hunt for one of the top four seeds in the NCAC tournament. They are 15-5 overall and 7-4 in the NCAC, tied for third with Allegheny and Hiram.

Four players scored in double figures for the Tigers: Chris Sullivan (15); Clayton Black (15); David Hieber (13); David Nowicki (12) and Josh McKee (10).

Wittenberg shot 48 percent from 3-point range (12-of-25). Sullivan led the way with five 3-pointers, and Hieber hit three.

“Some of that was (Ohio Wesleyan’s) zone, probably,” Brown said. “But some of the reason they went to the zone is they had some issues handling us around the basket. Clayton was really an aggressive tough guy around the basket. That probably set them into the zone.”

Ohio Wesleyan outrebounded Wittenberg 50-34, including 24-8 in offensive rebounds.

Four minutes into the second half, the Bishops led by two, and the Tigers had scored just six points in the previous 10 minutes. Two 3-pointers by Sullivan in less than a minute got Wittenberg’s offense going again.

The Tigers play two straight home games, versus Hiram on Saturday and Earlham next Wednesday, before traveling to Wooster on Feb. 13.

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