The Tigers flexed their muscle early by sprinting out to a 20-10 lead midway through the period. The lead grew to 18 at one point before the Gators chipped away. An 8-2 spurt, spearheaded by threes from senior guard Chase McKim and freshman guard Larry Sharp and a jumper from McCloskey, brought AC back to within 37-25 at the half.
McKim, playing in his final home game, and McCloskey each had nine points by the break for Allegheny, who shot 33 percent in the first half and was out-rebounded by a 24-12 margin. 6-8 forward Dane Borchers and 6-9 center Daniel Russ both scored seven points in the opening period for the Tigers.
Allegheny was able to hang around early in the second half. McCloskey’s jumper to open the half made it 37-27 but Wittenberg answered with a 14-3 spurt to push the lead to 51-30. McCloskey came back with a jumper and three free throws after being fouled on a triple, that sliced the Tiger advantage to 51-35 with 14:16 left.
Wittenberg exploded after that to put the game away. Back-to-back threes from Kenny Molz and Andy Bucheit extended Wittenberg’s lead to 22 points and Allegheny never moved closer than 20 points the rest of the game. For the contest, the Tigers buried 11 treys and held a 53-28 rebounding advantage. On the other side, Allegheny hit just 16 of 53 shots in posting their lowest scoring output since tallying 47 in a loss to Kenyon College back in 1995.
McCloskey managed to slice through the Tiger defense to score 16 points on 5-11 shooting and he also handed out three assists. McKim finished with nine in his final home game, while Sharp matched his career-high with eight points.
Wittenberg had four players score in double digits, including Russ’s double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Borchers finished with 14 points and Danny Brywczynski and Andy Bucheit both hit four three-pointers to notch 12 markers in the victory.
Allegheny and Wittenberg will likely see each other again very soon. Barring an Ohio Wesleyan victory at Wooster tonight, the Tigers, who need the OWU win to move up from the two-seed, will host the Gators, who are locked in as the seven-seed, Tuesday night in the NCAC Tournament Quarterfinals. If Wooster is upset, then Allegheny will make the journey to face the Scots Tuesday night.
Wittenberg University vs Allegheny College 02-19-05 3:00 p.m. at Meadville, Pa. (David V. Wise Center) WITTENBERG UNIVERSITY 77, ALLEGHENY COLLEGE 47 WITTENBERG UNIVERSITY (22-3, 14-2 NCAC) Daniel Russ 7-11 1-2 15; Dane Borchers 6-9 2-3 14; Andy Bucheit 4-8 0-0 12; Danny Brywczynski 4-6 0-0 12; Kenny Brady 3-7 0-0 6; Kenny Molz 2-4 0-0 5; Brett Bowen 1-3 2-2 5; Brandon Barabino 1-5 0-0 3; Billy Bowen 1-5 1-2 3; Jack Hemenway 0-3 1-2 1; Mark Huelsman 0-1 1-2 1; Jeromy Romero 0-0 0-0 0; Phil Steffes 0-4 0-0 0; Alex Collins 0-1 0-0 0; Pat Denbow 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-67 8-13 77. ALLEGHENY COLLEGE (8-16, 5-11 NCAC) Casey McCloskey 5-11 5-6 16; Chase McKim 3-8 0-0 9; Larry Sharp 3-6 0-0 8; Bill Babe 2-7 1-2 5; Matt Majzlik 1-7 1-3 3; Rob Rodgers 1-1 0-0 3; Ben Torsney 1-3 0-0 2; Sean Brakey 0-1 1-2 1; Will Ness 0-1 0-0 0; Greg Richards 0-2 0-0 0; Pat Brannigan 0-2 0-0 0; Quinn O'Brien 0-0 0-0 0; Alex Alper 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Sefscik 0-1 0-0 0; Justin Schmitt 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-53 8-13 47. Wittenberg University......... 37 40 - 77 Allegheny College............. 25 22 - 47 3-point goals-Wittenberg University 11-23 (Andy Bucheit 4-7; Danny Brywczynski 4-5; Kenny Molz 1-2; Brett Bowen 1-3; Brandon Barabino 1-1; Phil Steffes 0-3; Billy Bowen 0-1; Kenny Brady 0-1), Allegheny College 7-26 (Chase McKim 3-8; Larry Sharp 2-3; Rob Rodgers 1-1; Casey McCloskey 1-5; Sean Brakey 0-1; Greg Richards 0-1; Pat Brannigan 0-1; Alex Alper 0-1; Mike Sefscik 0-1; Bill Babe 0-4). Fouled out--Wittenberg University-None, Allegheny College-None. Rebounds-Wittenberg University 53 (Daniel Russ 10), Allegheny College 28 (Chase McKim 4). Assists-Wittenberg University 21 (Danny Brywczynski 6), Allegheny College 10 (Casey McCloskey 3). Total fouls-Wittenberg University 13, Allegheny College 13. A-723