WOOSTER, Ohio - It turns out that the third time really was a charm for the Wittenberg men's basketball team in 2013-14 - at least as far as the Tigers' rivalry goes with North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival DePauw. After losing a pair of lop-sided games to DePauw during the regular season, Wittenberg staged a second-half rally to pull out a 63-61 victory in the NCAC Tournament semifinals.
The win earned Wittenberg a berth in the NCAC Tournament championship game for the 14th time in 25 years as a league member. The 22nd-ranked Tigers, the No. 3 seed in the NCAC Tournament, will carry a 21-6 overall record into the title tilt against either top-seeded Wooster or fourth-seeded Ohio Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 1, on the Scots' home floor.
Wittenberg is seeking its first NCAC Tournament crown since 2006 and the seventh in program history. The Tigers lost both regular season games to Wooster and defeated Ohio Wesleyan twice en route to a three-way tie for second place in the final standings with DePauw and the Battling Bishops.
Over the course of the opening six minutes, the script appeared eerily similar to the regular season meetings between the two teams as DePauw jumped out to a 12-6 lead. Much as they did in the Tigers' NCAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Denison three nights earlier, Wittenberg's reserves provided a much-needed spark.
An 11-4 Wittenberg run, with every point coming from its bench, turned the tide in the game. The two teams battled to a 35-35 standoff by halftime, and neither team led by more than four points over the final 20 minutes.
After the reserves keyed the first-half rally, however, it was Wittenberg's starting lineup that made the biggest baskets in the second half, starting with a jumper by junior Sam Collins (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) with 9:26 remaining that kickstarted a decisive 8-0 run. Until that point, the Tigers were trailing 51-47, but DePauw was held scoreless for nearly five minutes.
DePauw responded with five straight points as Wittenberg went through a dry spell of its own until sophomore Alex Fultz (Batavia, Ohio/Glen Este) hit a jumper with 1:43 left. Over the next 1:33, the teams traded three empty possessions until senior Scott Masin (New Carlisle, Ohio/Bethel) hauled in a rebound and was fouled with nine seconds left. He made both free throws, before Collins iced the game with a steal and a free throw. After DePauw banked in a three-pointer, Collins closed the game with a free throw.
Masin led the Tigers with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double in the last four games. His work on the boards keyed a 34-27 rebounding advantage for Wittenberg.
Freshman Shane Edwards (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) added 10 points, three steals and two assists off the bench, and freshman Cody Phillippi (Xenia, Ohio/Xenia) chipped in with eight points in 18 high-energy minutes.
Wittenberg shot 43 percent from the field, compared to 47 percent for DePauw. The difference in the game from an offensive standpoint was free throws as Wittenberg knocked down 17-of-23, as opposed to 8-of-12 for DePauw.