As the first-place showdown between Wittenberg and DePauw headed into the final four minutes, Tiger senior Michael Cooper (Springfield, Ohio/South) had hit one shot from the field and his team was just 4-of-13 from the free throw line.
What followed was nothing short of clutch. First, Cooper drained three straight three-pointers in a span of just 1:16, the last one putting Wittenberg ahead by six points with 2:21 left in the game. Then, with DePauw suddenly finding the range from long distance as well, Cooper's teammates stepped to the line and drained 10 straight tosses over the final 1:12 to secure a 66-62 victory over the visiting Tigers.
The win moved Wittenberg back into a two-game lead in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) at 8-1 to go along with a 14-4 overall record. DePauw fell into a four-way tie for second place with Ohio Wesleyan, Wabash and Wooster at 6-3. Overall, DePauw now stands at 12-6.
Wittenberg led throughout the game, but the Tigers were unable to pull away thanks in part to their struggles at the free throw line. DePauw made just 4 of its first 20 three-point attempts, but the visiting Tigers made a late push by making 5 of their last 10 shots from the distance.
That's when the host Tigers finally got untracked from the charity stripe. Sophomore Zack Leahy (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford) hit all six of his attempts and senior Clayton Black (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) added four more to secure the win.
Black finished the game with 19 points to lead all scorers, pushing his career total to 1,014. He is the 32nd player in Tiger men's basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. Black added eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
Cooper added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists, while senior Alex Brandt (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy) contributed nine points and six boards and Leahy finished with nine points in 20 minutes off the bench.
Black wasn't the only player to surpass 1,000 career points. DePauw's leading scorer, Sean Haseley, also topped the benchmark during the game.