The Yellowjackets (1-1) drew within one point twice, the last time on Mike Goia’s three-pointer from deep on left wing, 44-43, with 5:08 remaining. Steffes connected from the right corner for a 47-43 lead with 4:44 left. Goia made two free throws before Denbow put the Tigers ahead, 50-45, on a trey with 4:03 left.
A three-pointer by Rochetser’s Jeff Juron cut it to 50-48 with 2:17 to go. After both teams missed opportunities, Denbow made both ends of a one and one with 19 seconds left. Juron drove for a layup with 10 seconds left.
Steffes was fouled with eight seconds remaining. He missed the front end of the one and one. A foul by WU’s Daniel Russ gave the Yellowjackets the ball just over midcourt with 3.7 seconds remaining. Tim Brackney tried a three-pointer from in front of the Rochester bench. It bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Wittenberg led by 10 early thanks to the inside production of Russ. He scored the first seven Tiger points and had nine of WU’s first 11. Rochester fought back, finally tying the score at 26-26 on a three-pointer by Brackney with 2:34 left (26-26). Brady made a layup with 2:14 to go and it was 28-26 at halftime.
Brady was named the Most Valuable Player. He scored nine points, had four rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal in 29 minutes in the title game. He was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Russ who led the Tigers (2-0) with 13 points. Dane Borchers had 10 points and eight rebounds. Wittenberg outrebounded Rochester, 34-23.
Juron (12 points) and Dan Milbrand (eight rebounds, two points) were named to the All-Tournament team for Rochester. They joined Todd Dersham of Alfred University and Ryan O’Keefe of Tufts.
WITTENBERG UNIV. (2-0) Daniel Russ 6-11 0-0 13; Dane Borchers 3-6 4-4 10; Kenny Brady 4-11 0-0 9; Phil Steffes 2-5 0-1 6; Pat Denbow 1-1 2-2 5; Jack Hemenway 2-2 0-0 4; Tyler Howard 1-2 0-0 3; Gregg Hill 1-7 0-0 2; Mark Huelsman 0-1 0-0 0; D.J. Corbett 0-1 0-0 0; Billy Bowen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 6-7 52. ROCHESTER (1-1) Juron, Jeff 5-11 0-0 12; Brackney, Tim 3-9 0-0 8; Goia, Mike 2-5 2-2 8; Canty, Joe 3-3 0-0 8; Ndubizu, Uche 3-7 0-0 6; Onyiriuka, Jon 2-10 0-0 4; Chmielowiec, Michael 1-2 0-0 2; Milbrand, Dan 1-3 0-2 2; Snider, Eric 0-0 0-0 0; Kaplan, Max 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 2-4 50. Wittenberg Univ............... 28 24 - 52 Rochester..................... 26 24 - 50 3-point goals-Wittenberg Univ. 6-13 (Phil Steffes 2-3; Kenny Brady 1-3; Pat Denbow 1-1; Daniel Russ 1-2; Tyler Howard 1-1; D.J. Corbett 0-1; Gregg Hill 0-1; Dane Borchers 0-1), Rochester 8-19 (Brackney, Tim 2-6; Canty, Joe 2-2; Juron, Jeff 2-7; Goia, Mike 2-4). Fouled out--Wittenberg Univ.-None, Rochester-None. Rebounds-Wittenberg Univ. 34 (Dane Borchers 8), Rochester 23 (Milbrand, Dan 8). Assists-Wittenberg Univ. 13 (Phil Steffes 4), Rochester 15 (Goia, Mike 4). Total fouls-Wittenberg Univ. 11, Rochester 13. A-775