In winning the tournament, the Tigers beat two teams, Kean and Taylor, with a combined record of 20-9.
“It’s just a great learning environment for us,” Wittenberg coach Bill Brown said. “We liken Kean to Hiram, which is coming up soon, and I liken Taylor to Wooster. Taylor can really shoot the basketball. I’m just really excited for our guys and the program.”
The Tigers (6-4) missed a layup that would have tied the game at the buzzer against Taylor two years ago. This time, Taylor needed the tying basket. Taylor’s Kyle Hanaway missed a layup in traffic with 3 seconds remaining, and a tip-in by Nate Kasper was off the mark at the buzzer.
“(Hanaway) got a nice look,” Wittenberg guard Chris Sullivan said. “Luckily, the ball rolled our way.”
Sullivan scored 14 points and hit two 3-pointers during a 12-0 run that swung the game back in Wittenberg’s favor. The Tigers trailed 46-41 with 10:41 to play. With 6:25 to go, the Tigers took a 53-46 lead when Seth Hill grabbed a rebound, took it coast-to-coast and finished off an acrobatic layup while being fouled.
“That’s one of my highlights of the season,” Sullivan said. “He went up with one hand, finished it and got fouled. It was awesome. He played really well this weekend.”
Clayton Black led the team in scoring for the sixth time in 10 games. He had a hand in each of Wittenberg’s last nine points, scoring five of them and assisting Michael Cooper on two baskets. Black was named MVP of the tournament.
Both teams shot 50 percent from 3-point range. Taylor made 12-of-24, and Wittenberg made 10-of-20. Steven Newell hit 3-of-4 for the Tigers, and finished with nine points. Cooper, Hill and Cameron Walton each scored six.
The Tigers have a busy week at home next week. They host Pitt-Bradford at 6 p.m. Monday, and then jump into North Coast Athletic Conference play against Oberlin at 8 p.m. Wednesday and Hiram at 5 p.m. Saturday.
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