Wittenberg men determined to ‘finish it out’

Seniors remember their disappointing loss in the tourney three years ago.

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:20 PM Friday, February 3, 2012

SPRINGFIELD — Wittenberg’s seven seniors haven’t forgotten the feeling of walking off the court after the last game of their freshman season.

A 65-60 loss to Kenyon at home in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament, just three days after a 24-point victory over Kenyon at home, ended the program’s streak of 40 straight seasons with a winning record. The Tigers finished 13-13 in 2008-09.

Three years later, they are 16-4 and inching closer to their first NCAC regular-season title since 2004.

“We kind of let people down that year,” said senior Josh McKee, who started that game against Kenyon. “It was really hard on us. We worked hard. We got to this point. Now we’ve got to finish it out.”

The Tigers enter today’s 1 p.m. home game against Allegheny with a two-game lead over Wooster. Only five games remain. If the Tigers and Scots were to both win their next two games, the Tigers could clinch the title with a victory over their rivals at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday.

But the Tigers still have to beat the Gators and then win at Wabash on Wednesday, while Wooster hosts Wabash today and visits Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday. Anything can happen in the next seven days.

“You just have to go one game at a time, or you’ll put undue anxiousness on yourself,” Wittenberg coach Bill Brown said.

Black’s dunks: They don’t keep track of dunks in the statistics, but Clayton Black might lead the league. He had two rim-shaking slams in Wednesday’s 66-58 victory over Ohio Wesleyan.

“The dunks are exciting when you’ve got people in the stands and you feel the crowd,” Black said. “It’s good for everyone. You feel the energy.”

The closer: Sophomore Zack Leahy has become Wittenberg’s go-to guy at the free-throw line in close games. In the last three games, he is 12-of-12 at the line in the last two minutes.

Who: Allegheny (5-15, 3-8 North Coast Athletic Conference) at Wittenberg (16-4, 10-1 NCAC).

When: 1 p.m. today

Where: Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield

Radio: WUSO-FM (89.1)

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

Series: Wittenberg leads 44-12.

Last meeting: Wittenberg won 65-54 on Dec. 10.

Last game: On Wednesday, Wittenberg beat Ohio Wesleyan 66-58 and Allegheny beat Oberlin 64-44.

Starting lineups

Wittenberg

Player Ht. Yr. Pos. PPG

Michael Duffy 5-10 Sr. G 0.8

Josh McKee 6-2 Sr. W 9.6

Michael Cooper 6-5 Sr. W 9.4

Alex Brandt 6-7 Sr. P 8.2

Clayton Black 6-7 Sr. P 15.3

Allegheny

Devone McLeod 6-0 Jr. G 10.9

Clark Tritto 6-3 So. F 4.5

D. DiBernardi 6-3 Fr. G 6.5

James Ness 6-6 Sr. F 14.8

Gabe Seidman 6-2 Fr. G 6.6

Scouting report

Wittenberg notes: Black shoots a team-best 73 percent from the free-throw line. ... Brandt ranks third in the NCAC in field-goal percentage (58.9). ... Cooper leads the team with 44 assists.

Allegheny notes: After losing 11 straight games, the Gators have won three of their last four , beating Denison, Hiram and Oberlin and losing to Kenyon. ... Ness had 17 points and shot 6-of-6 from the field in the first game against the Tigers.

Women’s game: The Tigers (9-9, 5-5 NCAC) host Allegheny (13-6, 8-2 NCAC) at 3 p.m. Wittenberg lost 69-61 at Allegheny on Jan. 7. Wittenberg is celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day beginning at noon today. Represenatives of Wittenberg’s 12 women’s teams will assemble at the HPER Center, conducting demonstrations of their sports. Girls of any age are invited to participate.

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