SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers evened the score on rival Wooster, rallying from a 14-point deficit to claim a 76-72 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory and sole possession of first place in the regular season title chase with two games remaining.
The win was Wittenberg's 13th in their last 14 games and moved the 25th-ranked Tigers to 17-5 overall and 13-1 in the NCAC, heading into a challenging final stretch with games at Wabash and Hiram in the final week. Wooster, which was ranked No. 1 for most of the season before losing last Saturday to Wabash to fall to fourth, dropped to 21-2 overall and 12-2 in the conference. The Scots close the season with a pair of home dates against Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan.
After playing just 15 minutes and scoring just seven points in a Jan. 22 loss at Wooster, junior Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) turned in a monster effort, pouring in a career-high 30 points in 36 minutes. His previous career-high was 26 against Indiana University-East in the 2010-11 season opener. He hit 10-of-13 shots from the floor and even added his first three-pointer of the 2010-11 season, while also adding 9-of-13 free throws. He even contributed seven rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and two blocked shots.
While Black was the focal point offensively, he was hardly a one-man show. Seniors Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Seth Hill (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) were simply outstanding in their final regular season appearance in Pam Evans Smith Arena. Sullivan suffered through a horrendous shooting night in the loss at Wooster, but he drained 4-of-11 from three-point range to finish with 16 points to go along with three rebounds. Hill added six points and career-highs of five assists and 13 rebounds, including the final defensive carom of the night with the Tigers clinging to a three-point lead in the closing seconds.
Much as Wittenberg saw a late lead slip away in the loss on the Scots' home court, Wooster suffered a similar fate in this game. The Scots led by 10 points at halftime on the strength of 52 percent shooting from the field, compared to 39 percent for the Tigers. But the tables turned over the final 15 minutes as Wittenberg's defensive pressure limited Wooster's scoring opportunities and Black and Sullivan poured in key baskets to whittle down the lead. Sullivan's final three-pointer of the night with 2:51 left in the game gave the Tigers' their first lead since the early going at 70-68.
That triple was right in the middle of a game-changing 12-0 Wittenberg run that saw a 68-61 Wooster lead flip to a 73-68 Wittenberg advantage. After nine straight empty possessions, the Scots finally got their offense going again to close the gap to one point, but junior Jacob Weide (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) hit the biggest basket of his collegiate career with 33 seconds left, a turnaround jumper from about 14 feet away and the shot clock winding down. The Tigers then forced 2010 NCAC Player of the Year Ian Franks into a contested lay-up with nine seconds left, and Hill was credited with the key hustle rebound. Black then hit 1-of-2 free throws to ice the win.
Weide contributed nine points and four rebounds in 19 outstanding minutes off the bench. He also had a key putback during the Tigers' 12-0 run after Black had a dunk rim out.
The Tigers finished with 44 percent shooting from the floor for the game and nailed 12-of-16 shots from the free throw line. Both teams took great care of the ball, committing just six turnovers apiece, while Wittenberg finished with a 39-31 rebounding advantage. Fifteen of the Tigers' boards came at the offensive end, leading to a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points.
Wooster put three players in double figures with Nathan Balch and Franks finishing with 13 points apiece and Bryan Wickliffe added 12 in just 16 minutes due to foul trouble. Wickliffe paced the Scots with seven rebounds and Franks topped the squad with three assists.