Wohltman Scores 12 In Indiana Tech Win

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Published on February 21 2014 9:30 am
Last Updated on February 21 2014 9:30 am
Written by Millie Lange

Wohltman Scores 12 In Victory

DETROIT, Mich. – It was a complete team effort for Indiana Tech men’s basketball as seven of the team’s eight players scored in the 72-68 victory over Marygrove on Wednesday at the Northwest Activities Center.

The Mustangs of Marygrove (3-26, 2-19) got off to a fast start in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference showdown, scoring 18 of the first 24 points in the contest to jump out to an 18-6 lead at the 12:18 mark. The lead didn’t last long as the Warriors (16-13, 11-10) used an 18-4 run, sparked by an Antwan Cathey (Memphis, Tenn.) jumper, to take their first lead of the contest, 24-22 with 5:36 left in the half. The two teams traded the lead several times in the final five minutes with a pair of Arben Camaj (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester HS) free throws at the half giving Tech the 33-32 lead.

Tech held a small margin in points in the paint, 18-16, and points off turnovers, 9-6, while also winning on the glass, 21-17. John Cooksey (Spencer, Okla.) led the Warriors with seven first half points while Xavier Walker led all players with 12 points and five rebounds for the Mustangs.

The second half began right where the first half ended with the two teams trading the lead and tying several times in the opening eight minutes until a Jeff Hoskins (Kalamazoo, Mich.) layup at the 12:29 mark in the second half gave the Orange and Black a one-point, 45-44 lead, one they didn’t relinquish. A 21-10 run by the visitors pushed the lead to 12, 66-54 with just 2:32 to play. The home team didn’t quit, scoring 12 of the next 15 points to cut the lead to three, 69-66, with 12 seconds to play. Nick Lewis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) was able to convert three of four free throws in the final 10 seconds to seals the four-point, 72-68 win.

Both teams scored 18 points in the paint with the only real margin being on the glass as the Warriors held a 40-33 edge in rebounds in the contest. Tech finished the contest 24-for-52 (46.2%) from the field, 3-for-10 (30%) from three and 21-for-29 (72.4%) from the free throw line. The home team shot better from the floor, finishing 31-for-66 (47%) for the game, including a 2-for-10 (20%) mark behind the arc. However, the difference in the game was at the charity stripe as the Mustangs were just 4-for-12 (33.3%) from the line.

Five players finished in double figures for the Warriors, led by 15 points from Hoskins while Jeremy Wohltman of Effingham added 12 points and Cooksey, Lewis and Rontray Chavis (Princeton, Ind.) each scored 11 with Chavis leading the team with nine rebounds.

Walker led Marygrove with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds while Darryll Dixon added 22 for the home team.

The Warriors return to Kline Court to close out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 22 against Concordia at 7:30 p.m.

 

SIU Drops Deicison To Tennessee State

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – SIUE dropped a 66-61 decision to Tennessee State Thursday night in Ohio Valley Conference

men's basketball at the Gentry Center.

The loss dropped SIUE to 7-7 in the OVC, and prevented the Cougars from officially clinching a bid to the OVC Tournament.  SIUE dropped to 11-17 overall. Tennessee State improved to 4-24 overall and 3-11 in the OVC.

In a game in which neither team led by more than six points, Tennessee State prevailed partly on the strength of eight three-pointers; better than three more per game than their season average.

"We had a lot of mental breakdowns defensively," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "We didn't compete as hard as we could have especially on the defensive end. We didn't do a good job of guarding their penetration or closing out on their shooters when we went zone."

In a sign of things to come, the Tigers opened the game with back-to-back three-pointers to lead 6-0 less than a minute into the game. It didn't take long for the Cougars to come back. A Keaton Jackson jumper moved SIUE in front 12-11 with 15:07 to play before half. A three-pointer by Christian Salecich at 10:53 gave SIUE its largest lead, 24-19. The Cougars led 33-30 at halftime.