Wittenberg's Black has dominating game - Springfield News Sun

By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:20 PM Friday, January 13, 2012

SPRINGFIELD â€" Clayton Black had never dominated a game as he did Wednesday when he scored 38 points at Kenyon.

It wasn’t just a career game for the Wittenberg senior. It was the game of a lifetime.

“Nothing even close to that before,” Black said on Friday.

Black never scored in the 30s in high school at Lancaster. He only once had hit 30 at Wittenberg, last year against Wooster at home.

Everything came together on Wednesday for the 6-foot-7 post. In one game, he raised his scoring average almost 2 points, from 13.5 to 15.2.

Black tied for the 23rd-best single-game scoring performance in the season in NCAA Division III. He still fell well short of matching the D-III record 89-point effort by Grinnell’s Griffin Lentsch in November.

Black said he had no idea how many points he had when the game ended.

“I don’t look at that too much,” he said. “I guess I’m too focused on the score and how much time is left. Someone told me I had made a lot of baskets in the first half. At the very end, a couple of guys on the team were in my ear about it.”

Black made 11-of-15 shots from the field and 16-of-19 free throws against Kenyon. Considering his recent play, it wasn’t a fluke game.

After not topping 13 points in the first eight games, he hasn’t scored fewer than 15 in the last six. Wittenberg has won all six of those games. Black has averaged 22.3 points during the stretch, while shooting 72 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free-throw line.

The key for Black is finding different ways to score. He can put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket if the opportunity arises. He can hit short jump shots or post up inside. He did it all against Kenyon.

“It was a close game the whole time,” Black said. “Every possession counted. We were just looking for a way to score. You had to vary it up.”

Wittenberg (11-3, 5-0 North Coast Athletic Conference) hosts Denison at 3 p.m. today. The Tigers lead Wabash (4-1 NCAC) by one game. Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, DePauw and Denison all trail by two games at 3-2.

“It definitely gets everyone excited to know we’re in a pretty good spot right now,” Black said. “To stay up there is going to be quite the battle.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or David.Jablonski@coxinc.com.

Who: Denison University (6-3, 3-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) at Wittenberg University (11-3, 5-0 NCAC)

When: 3 p.m. today

Where: Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield

Radio: WUSO-FM (89.1)

Video: client.stretchinternet.com/client/wit.portal#

Series: Wittenberg leads 121-26.

Last meeting: Wittenberg won 77-63 on Feb. 22, 2011.

Last game: Wittenberg beat Kenyon 71-63 on Wednesday, and Denison beat Ohio Wesleyan 69-66.

Starting lineups

Wittenberg

Player Ht. Yr. Pos. PPG

Steven Newell 6-0 So. G 4.9

Josh McKee 6-2 Sr. W 9.2

Michael Cooper 6-5 Sr. W 9.2

Alex Brandt 6-7 Sr. P 8.4

Clayton Black 6-7 Sr. P 15.2

Denison

Jon Akpapunam 6-1 Jr. G 6.0

Larry Farmer 6-5 Sr. W 12.6

Dimonde Hale 6-4 Jr. W 15.5

Bret Woolard 6-3 Fr. W 2.8

Marr Mansfield 6-4 Sr. P 5.4

Wittenberg notes: The Tigers have won 12 games in a row against Denison. ... Zack Leahy has moved into second on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game. ... Ben Syroka, the only freshman in the rotation, is averaging 3.2 points per game.

Denison notes: Chris Sullivan, who finished his Wittenberg career as the school’s all-time leading 3-point shooter last season, is now an assistant coach at Denison. ... Denison’s two NCAC losses are to Wabash (71-65) and Kenyon (77-74).

Women’s game: The Tigers (6-6, 2-2 NCAC) host Denison (11-3, 4-1 NCAC) at 1 p.m. The Tigers are in fifth place in the NCAC. The Tigers have had four different leading scorers in their last six games: Lyndsey Clark (twice), Kim Replogle, Sarah Watson (twice) and Katelyn Haralamos. Watson averages a team-best 12.2 points per game.