SEASON RECAP
The Wittenberg men's basketball team added to their NCAA Division III
all-time mark for victories (1,370) as they completed the 1998-99 season
with an overall mark of 19-7. The Tigers North Coast Athletic Conference
record of 12-4 earned them a second place finish in the regular season
standings. The Tigers defeated Denison University in the quarterfinal
round of post-season tournament play before falling in the semi-final
round to Allegheny.
A strong start to the season saw the Tigers win nine of their first eleven
games which included wins over NAIA scholarship schools Cedarville and
Walsh University in the Wittenberg/Kiwanis Holiday Classic title game.
Wittenberg followed the tournament with convincing home court victories
over NCAC rivals Wooster and Allegheny.
Faced with a difficult, late season conference schedule and a season
ending injury to four-year starter Lou Stahl, the Tigers were unable to
maintain their good early season play. Wittenberg faltered on the road
with losses to Wooster and then back-to-back games against Case Reserve
and Allegheny in two days. The Tigers were able to finish the season in
strong style with victories in the final five regular season games.
ALL-NCAC SELECTIONS
Sophomore Ryan Taylor (Waynesfield, O./Goshen) was named first team
All-North Coast Athletic Conference while David Walker (Cincinnati,
O./Purcell Marian) earned his third consecutive second team honor. Joining
Walker on the second team was junior Jon Stafford (New Carlisle,
O./Tecumseh).
TEAM AWARDS
Ryan Taylor and David Walker shared the team's Most Valuable Player honor
while Walker also garnered the Best Defensive Player award and the Coaches
Award. Junior Chris Fillmore (Barberton, O./Barberton) was named the
team's Most Improved Player.
COACH BILL BROWN
A 1973 Wittenberg graduate, Bill Brown finished his sixth season as the
Tigers head coach with a record of 138-35 (.798). His career record of
198-134 (.595) includes time at Wooster and Kenyon. Brown has guided his
teams to four NCAA Division III tournament appearances including a final
four berth in 1993-94, three NCAC regular season titles and one conference
tournament championship.
TIGER TALES
Top Statistical Leaders: Sophomore Ryan Taylor was the team's
leading scorer averaging 16.9 points a game while junior Jon Stafford was
second with 14.1 points a game. The team's top rebounders were senior
David Walker who averaged 7.1 boards a game and senior Mike Whittenbarger
(Van Wert, O./Van Wert) who pulled down 6.1 rebounds a game for the
Tigers. Sophomore Kyle Krauss (Deshler, O./Patrick Henry) led the team in
assists with three per game. Walker led the team in field goal percentage
(.564) while Stafford and Taylor were the team's leaders in free throw
percentage with 81.7% and 75.8%, respectively.
Defense and Rebounding: Over 26 games the Tigers held opponents
to 37.6 percent shooting from the floor and out rebounded opponents by an
average of 10.7 rebounds a game.
In the NCAC: The Tigers led the conference in three categories:
team defense (59.7), rebound margin (10.7) and defensive
field goal percentage (37.6) and were second in scoring margin (12.6).
In the NCAA: Wittenberg finished the season ranked in four
categories in the NCAA. The Tigers were sixth in field goal percentage
defense, sixth in rebound margin, 10th in scoring defense and 19th in
scoring margin.
BY THE NUMBERS
Wittenberg is the winningest Division III basketball program with
1,370 victories and second in percentage at .703.
The Tigers' NCAC regular season record in nine season is 138-20
(.873).
Wittenberg's overall record in the last nine season is 260-55
(.825).
Wittenberg's all-time record in the HPER Center is 221-24 (.902) in 16
seasons, including a regular season record of 186-15 (.925). In the past
42 years, the Tigers have a home mark of 451-47 (.906).
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