Just days removed from a loss in the biggest game thus far in the 2005-06 season, the Wittenberg Tigers cleared a significant hurdle Wednesday in a 66-54 victory at Ohio Wesleyan University.
The Tigers, who dropped to No. 6 in the nation after losing for the second time this season to now first-ranked Wooster, showed great resiliency in earning the 12-point road win over the North Coast Athletic Conference's third-place team. Wittenberg, which has now won 20 games or more in six straight seasons, improved to 20-2 overall and 11-2 in the NCAC. OWU, which lost at Wittenberg last month by a 77-60 margin, dropped to 14-8 overall and 9-4 in the NCAC.
With the sting of defeat still felt, the Tiger players went back to work as they said they would in the postgame interviews on Saturday. Led by 2005 NCAC Player of the Year, senior post Daniel Russ, who scored a game-high 24 points, the Tigers shot 47 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by nine. More importantly, the Wittenberg defense was outstanding again, holding another opponent under 60 points. Only Wooster has scored more than 60 points on Wittenberg this season, and the Scots, who average more than 100 per game, posted a total of 86 in each of the team's two meetings.
After spotting the Battling Bishops the game's opening basket, Russ went to work, scoring Wittenberg's first 11 points. The lead swelled to as many as 11 points midway through the opening 20 minutes before the Tigers headed to the locker room up 31-25. In the second half, Wittenberg held OWU at arm's length throughout.
Russ added nine rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots to his outstanding all-around performance. Senior wing Kenny Brady added 13 points and freshman guard Gregg Hill came off the bench to enjoy his finest performance as a Tiger, finishing with career-highs of 12 points and four rebounds.