SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Nothing came easy for the Wittenberg Tigers, but few things of value in life ever do. But when the dust had settled at Pam Evans Smith Arena, the Tigers had themselves a 68-59 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory over Hiram and a share of first place in the league standings.
Wittenberg is now 5-0 in the NCAC, equalling the mark of the No. 1 team in the nation, Wooster. Overall, the Tigers are now 9-4 and are riding a five-game winning streak, while Hiram dropped to 7-7 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
The Tigers led 7-2 in the early going, but Hiram battled back to take a 10-8 lead to set the stage for an entertaining, fast-paced first half. Wittenberg ended the opening 20 minutes on an 11-5 run, moving from a 26-25 lead at the 6:01 mark to a 37-30 at intermission.
The lead reached 11 early in the second half, but the Terriers worked the difference back to two points with 7:21 remaining. The Tigers answered with a decisive 9-0 run as four different players scored to move the lead from 53-51 to 62-51 with just 2:36 remaining.
The Tigers hit 40 percent from the field, including 15-of-28 in the first half. They overcame 21 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes thanks to 22-of-32 from the free throw line in the second half alone. Overall, Wittenberg finished 26-of-38 from the charity stripe, compared to 6-of-9 for Hiram.
Individually, junior Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) led the way with 19 points and four rebounds in 32 quality minutes. Junior Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) added 11 points and a team-high nine boards, while senior Chris Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) contributed 11 points and seven rebounds. Also of note was the play off the bench of senior Seth Hill (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine), who finished with six points on 2-of-2 from the field and from the line, and five rebounds, including a pair of clutch boards in the closing minutes.
Hiram was pestered into 34 percent shooting from the field, including 5-of-21 from three-point range. Wittenberg held a 43-42 rebounding edge, although the Terriers committed just nine turnovers to Wittenberg's 12.