Posted January 24 2001, 10:50 pm
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
The Wittenberg University men's basketball team stretched its mid-season win streak to six by defeating the host Denison University Big Red, 87-72, in Granville, Ohio Wednesday night. The Tigers remained atop the North Coast Athletic Conference at 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the league with the victory.
Coming on the heels of Wittenberg's huge home victory over nationally ranked Wooster last Saturday, the Tigers guarded well against a letdown against Denison. After falling behind 14-11 in the first half, the Tigers reeled off 20 consecutive points to break the game open. Balance was the key, as evidenced by the fact that leading scorer Ryan Taylor (Waynesfield, Ohio/Goshen) didn't score a point until late in the first half with the Tigers leading by 15 points.
The Tigers continue conference action on Saturday against Oberlin back home in the friendly confines of the HPER Center in Springfield. Wittenberg is a perfect 8-0 on its home court in the 2000-2001 season.
The Wittenberg women, on the other hand, struggled again in losing to the visiting Earlham Quakers, 70-57, Wednesday night at the HPER Center in Springfield. With the loss, a stunner considering Wittenberg's 87-35 win at Earlham last month, dropped the Tigers to 11-6 overall and 5-4 in the NCAC.
The Tigers got off to a slow start, committing 16 turnovers in the first half and falling behind 36-24 going into the lockerroom at halftime. Wittenberg battled all the way back to tie the game at 51, but then the shooting touch deserted the Tigers as Earlham recovered to pull away down the stretch.
Wittenberg was paced offensively by sophomore guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll), who dropped in 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the game. Junior forward Jill Swary (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview Heights) contributed nine points in support.
The Tigers now must turn their attention to securing a high seed in the NCAC postseason tournament and getting their offense back on track. With starting forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) out with an ankle injury, someone must step up for Wittenberg to turn it around when Oberlin comes calling on Saturday. Game time is 2 p.m. at the HPER Center.