For Immediate Release Jan. 16, 2008

Contact: Ryan Maurer E-Mail: rmaurer@wittenberg.edu

Kevin Murray

RICHMOND, Ind. — It wasn't pretty - or easy - but few things have qualified as either in this challenging 2007-08 season for the Wittenberg Tigers. The bottom line is that the Tigers escaped Earlham with a 59-49 victory to set up a first place North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) showdown Saturday at the Wittenberg's HPER Center.

The win was Wittenberg's eighth straight and moved the Tigers to 9-5 overall and 5-0 in the NCAC, heading into the most important stretch of the season. After squaring off with the arch-rival Scots at home on Saturday, Wittenberg must take to the road for games against conference title contenders Ohio Wesleyan on Jan. 23 and Wabash on Jan. 30. A home game against another quality conference foe, Kenyon, rounds out the key two-week stretch.

The Tigers took the lead with a three-pointer from junior wing Kevin Murray (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) less than a minute into the game and never allowed Earlham, which dropped to 2-12 overall and 0-5 in the NCAC, to get on top. Wittenberg moved the lead out to 29-22 by halftime and led by as many as 12 points midway through the second half. Earlham whittled the lead down to four points with 3:33 remaining, but the Tigers scored eight of the final 10 points to pull out the 10-point win, their 16th straight against the Quakers, dating back eight years.

Murray drained five three-pointers in the game to finish with 15 points to tie junior guard Gregg Hill (Farmington Hills, Mich./Redford Union) for game honors. Murray added three rebounds and two assists in 30 outstanding minutes, while Hill added two rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes. Most importantly, neither player was credited with a turnover in the game as Wittenberg committed just six as a team.

The Tigers got a lift off the bench from sophomore post Mark Snyder (Celina, Ohio/Parkway), who contributed 11 points and three boards in 19 minutes. Also of note was the play of senior wing Brandan Barabino (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit), who led Wittenberg with eight rebounds and added nine points. As a team, Wittenberg shot just 36 percent from the field, but the Tigers held a three-rebound advantage, forced 15 Earlham turnovers and limited the Quakers to 37 percent shooting.

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2007-08 Men's Basketball Schedule/Results