Box Score
Wittenberg 66, Ohio Wesleyan 55
Senior post Reuel Rogers (Columbus/Bexley) scored 6 points and senior guard Taylor Rieger (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) added 4 points as 13th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan whittled a 14-point deficit to just 3, but 22nd-ranked Wittenberg held off the Bishop comeback to take a North Coast Athletic Conference win on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.
Rogers had staked the Bishops to a 5-2 lead with a 3-pointer at the 18:37 mark of the first half, but Wittenberg took the lead with a 12-0 run, getting a pair of buckets from Zack Leahy and 3-pointers from Cole Bond and Steven Newell along the way. Newell's trifecta gave the visitors a 14-5 advantage with 14:34 left in the first half.
Senior wing Dre White (Lima/Bath) sank a pair of free throws at the 13:48 mark to end the Bishops' scoring drought of nearly 5 minutes, and when Rieger knocked down a 3-pointer with 11:19 left for Ohio Wesleyan's first basket in more than 7 minutes, the Bishops were still within 16-10.
Junior wing Nick Felhaber (Holland/Toledo St. John's) hit a 3-pointer to bring the Bishops within 20-16 with 8:07 left in the period, but the Tigers countered with a 10-0 run that included a pair of Leahy 3-pointers and a pair of Scott Masin hoops and gave Wittenberg a 30-16 lead with 5:09 left in the half.
A Rieger 3-pointer and a pair of Rogers lay-ins helped Ohio Wesleyan pull within 34-26 at the break, and the Bishops cut the gap to 38-35 on a thunderous follow dunk by Rogers and a lay-in from White with 16:44 remaining in the game.
The Tigers built the lead back to 10 points on a Sam Collins lay-in and a Leahy 3-pointer, and it was still a 9-point game after a Masin lay-in made it 57-48 with 2:02 left.
Freshman guard Seth Clark (Lewis Center/Olentangy) answered with a 3-pointer for the Bishops to make it a 2-possession game, but Newell went 6-for-6 from the line during the final minute to seal the outcome.
Rogers led the Bishops with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Clark finished with 12 points and Rieger added 11 points.
Leahy had a game-high 27 points for Wittenberg.
Box Score
