Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 71, Wittenberg 70

Senior post Phil Wallace (Akron/Norton) sank a lay-in that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay and followed with a bucket that gave the Bishops a 3-point lead, and Ohio Wesleyan withstood a potential game-tying possession to take a North Coast Atlantic Conference win over Wittenberg on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Wittenberg had taken the lead early in the overtime period on a lay-in by Eddie Brown, but junior guard Isaac Ward (Circleville/Logan Elm) answered with a 3-pointer to put the Bishops up, 67-66.  The Tigers retook the lead on Brown's jumper from the lane with 3:36 remaining, but Wallace gave the lead back to the Bishops with a a lay-in at the 2:23 mark, then scored from inside on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession to give the Bishops a 71-68 lead with 1:30 to go.

With the score still 71-68, Wittenberg called a timeout with :12.7 remaining.  The Bishops had one foul to give and used that with :09.4 to go.  The Tigers did not get a look from 3-point range and Brown scored an uncontested lay-in with :01.0 left, and the Bishops were able to run out the clock.

The Tigers had led, 61-57, with exactly 2 minutes left in regulation after a pair of free throws by Tyler Galluch, but fifth-year post Tony Carter (Cleveland/Parma Heights Holy Name) corralled an offensive rebound on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, setting up a feed from junior wing Jessee Battle (Gahanna/Lincoln) to senior guard Henry Hinkle (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) for a 3-pointer that brought the Bishops within 61-60.  Carter snared a defensive rebound on the Tigers' ensuing possession, leading to a Battle lay-in that gave the Bishops a 62-61 lead with :54 left, and Hinkle sank a pair of free throws for a 64-61 Ohio Wesleyan lead with :14 to play.  After a Wittenberg timeout with :11.6 remaining, Cameron Harrison misfired on a 3-pointer, but Galluch saved the rebound from going out of bounds and sent the ball under the basket, where Dawson Scott came up with it and found Harrison on the 3-point line for a game-tying trifecta with less than a second to play, sending the contest into overtime.

Wittenberg had led by as many as 11 points during the first half, but Carter knocked down a 3-pointer and senior wing David Rice (Cleveland/Parma Padua Franciscan) converted a 3-point play to help Ohio Wesleyan cut the lead to 3, and the Bishops assembled an 11-0 run midway through the second half, highlighted by a 3-point play and a lay-in by Battle, to take a 52-47 lead.  The Tigers countered with a 10-0 run that included 3-pointers by Galluch and Harrison to take a 59-55 lead with 3:56 remaining in regulation time, setting up the final minutes.

Battle led the Bishops with 16 points, while Ward finished with 14 and Wallace scored 10.  Carter grabbed a team-best 12 rebounds, with 5 of those coming during the overtime period alone, and Hinkle dished out a team-high 5 assists.

Box Score