Posted January 10 2001, 11:00 pm
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
SPRINGFIELD — The Wittenberg University men's and women's basketball teams faced very different challenges on Wednesday night, and thus they wound up with very different results.
First, the Tiger men toppled the Denison Big Red with relative ease, 73-56. Wittenberg never trailed in the game, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the opening minutes and never looking back. Still, the Tigers were less than sharp, shooting just 40.7 percent from the field and making just 6-of-24 shots from behind the three-point line.
Sophomore forward Kevin Longley (Vandalia, Ohio/Butler) led the victors with 14 points in the win, although he was the only one of 13 players to score a point for Wittenberg to reach double figures. Senior forward Ryan Taylor (Waynesfield, Ohio/Goshen) chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds, while senior center Chris Fillmore (Barberton, Ohio/Barberton) finished with eight points as well.
Wittenberg improved to 10-2 overall with the win and remained near the top of the North Coast Athletic Conference heap with a 4-1 mark. Denison dropped to 2-11 overall and 1-4 in the NCAC.
On the women's side, Wittenberg was playing Game 2 of perhaps the most difficult and important three-game stretch on its schedule. For the second time in four days the Tigers came up short against an undefeated NCAC foe, dropping a 61-57 decision to preseason conference favorite Ohio Wesleyan.
The Tigers fell behind early, rallied to take a lead into the locker room at halftime, and then couldn't put anything together late in the game to end up with the loss. Two major differences in the game were Wittenberg's inability to control All-NCAC center Katy Sturtz, who went for game-highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds, and losing the battle of the boards 42-31.
Sophomore forward Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw), senior center Jamie Brafford (Monroe, Ohio/Lakota) and sophomore guard Stephanie Campbell (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) all finished with double-digit point totals. But the team as a whole shot just 37.3 percent for the game, including a paltry 1-for-13 from three-point range.
Wittenberg fell to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the NCAC. The Bishops moved out to 10-3 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
The men's team is back in action Saturday on the road at Kenyon. Game time is 3 p.m., and the action will be on WBLY (1600 AM) in Springfield and worldwide on the Wittenberg University athletics web site. The women are home to face Kenyon on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. There is no radio broadcast available.