Wittenberg 63, Ohio Wesleyan 46

Feb. 24, 2006

Sophomore post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs) scored 7 points and junior guard Matt Shirer (Medina) had 6 points as Ohio Wesleyan took a 26-25 halftime lead, but Wittenberg opened the second half with 5 straight points to take the lead for good and went on to defeat the Bishops in North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinal action on Friday at the College of Wooster.

Wittenberg opened the scoring with a 3-pointer by Kenny Brady, but Ohio Wesleyan came back with a 7-2 run that included a pair of baskets by Rudegeair and a 3-pointer by senior wing Andy Warnock (Delaware/Hayes).

The Tigers answered with a lay-in and a 3-point play by Daniel Russ to take a 10-7 lead with 15:10 left in the first half, and Wittenberg would go on to take an 18-14 lead on a Russ free throw with 5:28 to play.

After the teams traded 3-pointers, senior wing Bryan King (Sidney) buried another 3-pointer to bring the Bishops within 21-20, then Shirer sank a lay-in to give Ohio Wesleyan the lead and followed with a jumper to make it a 24-21 game with 2:26 left in the half.

Russ hit a pair of free throws as Wittenberg closed to within 24-23, and Shirer and Dane Borchers traded baskets 7 seconds apart to make it 26-25, Ohio Wesleyan, at halftime.

Defense was the order of the day during the first half, with Ohio Wesleyan shooting 32.4 percent (11 of 34) from the field and Wittenberg hitting 9 of 24 shots, or 37.5 percent.

While the first half was quite the defensive battle, that didn't hold a candle to the second half. Neither team scored for more than 3 minutes until Borchers converted a 3-point play with 16:45 left in regulation time, giving the Tigers a 28-26 lead. Brady got the next basket of the half at the 15:08 mark, making it a 30-26 Wittenberg advantage.

Ohio Wesleyan got on the scoreboard on a lay-in by sophomore post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) with 13:50 left, and Ohio Wesleyan was still within a basket when junior wing Ted Uritus (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) hit a jumper that made it 33-31 with 12:25 left in the game.

The Tigers then stretched the lead with a 7-1 burst, getting a lay-in from Billy Bowen, a lay-in and a free throw by Russ and a basket by Phil Steffee to take a 40-32 lead with 9:35 to go.

King knocked down a 3-pointer on the Bishops' next possession, but the Tigers came right back with a lay-in by Russ and a Steffee 3-pointer to push the lead to dougle digits at 45-35 with 8:20 remaining.

Ohio Wesleyan had one more run left, collecting a free throw by Shirer and a 3-pointer from Warnock to close within 45-39 with 5:48 to play, but Pat Denbow hit a momentum-shifting 3-pointer on Wittenberg's next possession, and after a Bishop miss, Russ converted a 3-point play to give the Tigers a 51-39 lead at the 4:45 mark, and the margin remained in double figures for the rest of the game.

Rudegeair led the Bishops with 9 points. Senior guard Ross Rybarczyk (Oberlin/Elyria Catholic) and Warnock shared the team lead with 5 rebounds apiece, and junior post Ben Chojnacki (Medina) led the Bishops with 3 assists.

Rudegeair represented the Bishops on the all-tournament team.

Russ led Wittenberg with 21 points and 5 assists. Borchers finished with 13 points and led the Tigers with 15 boards.

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