“I think they believe in our system,” Hertz said Monday. “They believe in themselves. They believe in each other. We’re a much deeper team than we were last year, which has helped us in a lot of ways. It doesn’t just show up on gameday. It shows up every day in practice. It’s a highly-competitive team, so I think that’s carried over to helping us in games.
“At the same time, we’re about at the halfway point in the season. It’s conference play from here on out. You look at some metrics and some of the wins the teams in our conference have had, from top to bottom, it’s really, really good this year and really competitive. We’re pleased with where we’re at, but we’ve got a lot of work in front of us.”
Wittenberg and defending regular-season and tournament champion Denison (8-4 overall) lead the North Coast Athletic Conference with 3-0 marks. DePauw (10-3, 3-1) sits a half game back. Wabash (8-4, 2-1) trails the leaders by one game.
With a game Wednesday at DePauw and a game Saturday at Denison, this should be the toughest week of the season for Wittenberg, which lost to both teams twice in Hertz’s first season. All four games were decided by single digits.
“We played them both competitively both times last year,” Hertz said, “but at the same time, it’s a new year with new teams. The one thing our team has done a good job of thus far is focusing on the moment — not the past, not the future. It’s a big week, but in all honesty, we’re just focused on DePauw at the moment. God willing, we’ll get to the weekend and figure that out at that point."
The victory against Wooster was Wittenberg’s second straight in the series. The Tigers ended a nine-game losing streak in the rivalry with a 60-50 victory in the second game last season. The 25-point margin Saturday was the most lopsided victory for Wittenberg against Wooster since a 98-59 victory in 1957.
Wooster (4-9, 1-3) is on pace for its first losing season since 1987-88, not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
Wittenberg rebounded from a 59-57 loss at home to Asbury (3-10) on Dec. 30. Jonathan Combs made a 3-pointer with one second remaining in that game to beat the Tigers.
“I thought Saturday was a great bounce back,” Hertz said. “We played more to our identity, and for the most part, we did it for 40 minutes. We played fast, and we were pretty efficient on offense. Our defense was pretty much there for 40 minutes but not quite as good in the second half. I liked the competitiveness of our team.”
Wittenberg fell behind 2-0 but then scored 14 straight points. By halftime, it had stretched its lead to 42-18.
Centerville High School graduate Kyle Kenney, a 6-foot sophomore guard, scored a season-high 24 points. He made 4 of 5 3-pointers. He’s averaging 6.8 points.
“It was not a surprise,” Hertz said. “Maybe the biggest surprise was he was a little banged up going into the game. He had missed some practice, but he was healthy for two days going into the game. Having been a little bit beat up and having that kind of game says a lot about him and his character. He’s a warrior.”
Wittenberg won the game without its leading scorer on the season, 6-4 junior forward Tyler Galluch, a Catholic Central graduate averaging 15.2 points per game.
“We hope to have him back here as soon as possible,” Hertz said. “He’s just really developed. He’s a mismatched guy. He’s stronger and physical against some small forwards and a lot quicker and versatile and can shoot the ball when he plays at the four. I think he’s a matchup problem for really any opponent. We can do a variety of things with him.”
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