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Y! MyWebWITTENBERG 70, EARLHAM 54
Tigers sluggish in victory
Wittenberg squanders two big leads before handing Earlham its 18th straight loss; Tigers have won 13 of their last 14 games.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — The word of the night for Wittenberg coach Bill Brown was "lethargic." His team appeared sluggish at times against Earlham, twice building up big leads that didn't stand for long.
The Quakers tore down a 16-point lead in the first half and trimmed a 19-point second-half deficit to six before the Tigers finally pulled away for a 70-54 victory Wednesday at Pam Evans Smith Arena.
Extras
Photos
Sam Gregory (54) of Wittenberg grabs a rebound away from Neil Collins (12) during Wednesday's game. Gregory scored 12 points to help the Tigers stay tied for the NCAC lead.
Brad Folta (40) of Wittenberg is fouled by Nick Welsh (55) of Earlham during Wednesday's game at Pam Evans Smith Arena. Wittenberg won, 70-54. Staff photos by Barbara J. PerenicWittenberg (14-6, 10-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) won for the 13th time in the last 14 games and kept pace with Wooster atop the NCAC.
Earlham, 2-0 to start the season, lost its 18th straight game.
If the Tigers were lethargic, it wasn't lethal.
"We were lethargic, no question about it," Brown said. "Some of that was Earlham fiddling around with the ball offensively. They lulled us to sleep, and when they deemed it time to strike, we weren't ready."
Brandan Barabino led the Tigers with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Gregg Hill and Sam Gregory each scored 12.
Kevin Murray scored 14, tallying nine of those in the first four minutes on three 3-pointers as the Tigers opened the game on an 18-2 run.
Earlham responded with a 24-2 run to take the lead with 5:54 left in the half. The Tigers pulled away again in the second half to lead 45-26, but Earlham went on a 17-4 run to get back into it.
"I think it's just a lack of concentration honestly," Barabino said. "Coach calls it a mental and physical thing. Sometimes the mental thing's not always there, and we need a reminder."
If Wittenberg was tired, it might have been because of the two long road trips the team took last week. It was on the road from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesday for its trip to Wabash in Crawfordsville, Ind. Saturday's trip to Hiram kept it away from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Brown said he went easier on the team in practice Monday and Tuesday. Maybe it paid off at the end. The Tigers went on a 19-10 run over the last 8½ minutes.
"It was nice to not let a team get back completely into it and follow through with a win today," Barabino said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.
