Wittenberg, which won both regular season meetings with the Little Giants, will tip off in the first game of a doubleheader Friday on Wooster's home floor. The start time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., and the Tigers/Little Giants tilt will be followed by top-seeded Wooster hosting fifth-seeded Earlham, a surprise winner at fourth-seeded Denison on Tuesday. The quarterfinal victory, Wittenberg's third of the season by a margin of approximately 30 points against Allegheny, improved the Tigers to 23-3 overall after finishing 14-2 in the NCAC regular season, good for second place.
The Gators kept things close for much of the first half, but Wittenberg put together a 10-0 run in just two minutes late in the first half to expand a 16-11 advantage to 26-11 and the rout was essentially on. The lead was 34-19 by halftime, and Allegheny never got any closer than 14 points in the final 20 minutes.
For Wittenberg, the usual suspects stood out on the statistics sheet, but it was a full squad effort that led to victory. Junior post Dane Borchers led all scorers with 21 points, as he hit 5-of-7 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line, and he added four assists and three rebounds. Senior wing Andy Bucheit checked in with 15 points on five three-pointers (in seven attempts) and junior post Daniel Russ was outstanding with nine points and 15 boards, easily a game-high.
Allegheny got nine points off the bench from Larry Sharp and seven each from Justin Schmitt and Casey McCloskey. The Gators capped the 2004-05 season with an overall record of 8-17.