SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It has become something of a tradition at Wittenberg. The Tiger men's basketball team secured its 26th in-season home tournament title with a 91-75 victory over Kean in the championship game of the 2013 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic.
Wittenberg has won the tournament title 26 times in 31 years and three times in the last four. The victory moved the 11th-ranked Tigers to 10-1 on the season, heading into an extended lay-off before resuming North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play against Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
The Tigers once again received contributions from players up and down the line-up as 11 different players scored and 13 different players grabbed at least one rebound in the game. As a team, Wittenberg shot 48 percent from the field, including a 12-of-27 performance from three-point range, and 78 percent on 32 free throw opportunities.
The Tigers jumped on top in the early going and withstood a first-half charge that closed the gap to 29-26. A 13-2 Wittenberg run over the final 4:17 of the first half staked the Tigers to a 46-31 halftime advantage, and the Cougars were never able to get any closer than 18 points over the final 20 minutes.
In addition to solid shooting, the Tigers turned in a stellar performance on the boards that translated into a 49-25 rebounding advantage. Leading the way was senior post Scott Masin (New Carlisle, Ohio/Bethel) with his second double-double in as many nights with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
After posting his sixth double-double of the season and the 21st double-double of his career, Masin was awarded Tournament MVP honors. He was joined on the all-tournament team by senior guard Steven Newell (Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) and junior wing Sam Collins (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights).
Collins led all scorers with 23 points, while Newell added 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, all from long distance. Also of note was the play of freshman Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg), who poured in 13 points and six rebounds in 14 outstanding minutes off the bench.