Posted December 8 2001, 07:56 pm
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
MEADVILLE, PA. - The Wittenberg Tigers men's basketball team took one of its longest road trips of the season Saturday, and despite some struggles came away with a solid 72-66 win over Allegheny College.
Wittenberg improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with the victory, the Tigers' fifth straight since a loss to nationally ranked Wheaton College on Nov. 17. Allegheny, which finished last in the NCAC last year but returned the core of a very talented young team this year, fell to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the NCAC.
Leading the charge in this one was senior guard Greg Rustad (Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood), who filled it up for a career-high 27 points. He was 8-of-15 from the floor in the game, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. He also added seven rebounds in the game, the second-best total on the team.
The best total in the rebounding category was turned in by junior forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler), who snared a career-high 16 rebounds, including six at the offensive end.
Next up for the Tigers are non-conference road games at Urbana and Thomas More on Dec. 12 and 22 respectively. All of the action can be heard live on WBLY, AM 1600 or on Wittenberg's Web site.
GRANVILLE, OHIO - On the women's side, the Wittenberg Tigers made it a clean sweep, slowly pulling away from NCAC host Denison for an impressive 85-63 win. The Tigers improved to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the NCAC while Denison fell to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the NCAC.
Wittenberg got a big game off the bench from junior forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw), who poured in 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 marksmanship from the free throw line. Keller led three players in double figures, as sophomore forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and junior guard Kate Rolf (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Carroll) chipped in with 13 points.
The Tigers, whose only losses this year are to then No. 4 ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh and then No. 6 ranked Capital (both teams remain in the national rankings but have since been defeated once each), return to action on Dec. 12 at home against Thomas More and then hit the road for a contest at Defiance on Dec. 15.