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Misericordia had chipped Wittenberg’s early lead to just two points midway through the half.
But then the No. 3 Tigers stepped on the gas.
Thanks to a well-balanced effort, with five players scoring at least six points and Jacob Bertemes tallying 15 and Connor Seipel netting 10, Wittenberg was able to pull away and build a 23-point lead heading into the break.
Twenty three points proved to be too much to overcome as the Cougars wouldn’t be able to get any closer than that halftime deficit during the final 20 minutes en route to a 91-61 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship first-round exit Friday night at Wittenberg University.
“Once Wittenberg got going, they’re a very good team,” Misericordia head coach Willie Chandler said. “They’re better in person than they are on film. They’re a very, very good team and their guards are solid and their bigs are solid. So it got tough on us and got tough for us to score.”
Misericordia, which had been at its defensive apex as of late, giving up 65.7 points per game in its last seven contests and just 58.5 points during the MAC Freedom Conference Tournament, struggled to stop the dynamic Wittenberg offense, which finished with five players in double digits.
Led by Bertenes’ 17 points, the Tigers shot 57.6 percent from the field and their 91 points was the most Misericordia had allowed since a 93-75 loss to Swarthmore in November.
It was just the fourth time the Cougars had allowed 90 points this season.
“The guards dominated us in the first half. It was all the guards in the first half,” Chandler said. “They were making tough shots and I think we let our offense affect our defense, and that was a big problem. We let our turnovers and missed shots affect our defense and it just snowballed from there.”
Mixed in with its strong guard play, Wittenberg’s inside presence proved to be difficult to stop as well.
The Tigers out-rebounded Misericordia 43-23 while forwards Chad Roy and Connor Seipel scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. Seipel was also instrumental on the boards, picking up a game-high eight rebounds.
While Wittenberg’s bigs were able to execute offensively, they were also able to silence Misericordia’s best forward — Tony Harding. The sophomore, who scored 25 points in the Freedom Conference final, didn’t make a bucket, going 0-for-6 from the field.
Noah Rivera, Misericordia’s other prominent post player, was mostly effective, scoring 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting.
“The big rebounding thing in the first half, we were just missing shots. That was that,” Chandler said. “Yeah, they were getting tips a lot and second chances. We just didn’t do a good job in the first half from the start.”
Both Jason Kenny and Tre Fields were effective at times for the Cougars.
Kenny tied a game-high in points with 17 while Fields also finished in double figures, scoring 10 points and a tying team-high four rebounds.
With his 10-point effort, Fields will finish his collegiate career having scored in double-figures in three of his last four games.
“We’re going to miss Tre,” Chandler said. “Tre’s a big guard that we really haven’t seen at Misericordia since I’ve been around. He does a lot. He just brings constant energy.
“We’re just really going to miss him. He does a lot and he’s going to be hard to replace.”
With most of the key pieces returning next season, the Cougars are primed for another run at an NCAA Tournament bid.
After playing Ramapo tight in the NCAA Tournament last season, and then experiencing a bit of a MAC Freedom Conference Championship hangover to start the 2017-18 campaign, Chandler is hoping the Cougars use this 30-point loss as motivation heading into the offseason.
“This is definitely different than last year,” Chandler said. “They definitely put a beating on us this year and the guys have to know what it takes. They’re the third-ranked team in the country. If we want to get to where we want to be, and get a win or two in the NCAA Tournament, we have to work all summer.”
