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On this date in area sports history …
Fifteen years ago on this date, Jan. 3, 1994, Aaron Perry scored 26 points for Wittenberg in an 85-67 victory over Thomas More. Complete story on the jump.
Published in the News-Sun on Jan. 4, 1994
PERRY, WOLFE HELP TIGERS OVERCOME CROCI’S ABSENCE
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. - With Matt Croci sitting the bench because of a two-game suspension, Wittenberg needed somebody to fill the scoring gap against Thomas More Monday. Instead of somebody, however, the Tigers got somebodies. Senior guard Aaron Perry and junior forward Chris Wolfe each had career scoring nights, tossing in 26 and 18 points, respectively, to lead the undefeated Tigers to an 85-67 victory before an estimated 300 at the Connor Convocation Center. Croci, a tri-captain and the Tigers’ leading scorer with a 20.0 average, was suspended by Coach Bill Brown on Monday for disciplinary reasons. Brown declined to elaborate but acknowledged the suspension was his idea. The 6-foot-2 forward also will miss Wednesday’s North Coast Athletic Conference game at Denison. “He’s got to grow from it all, and we have to deal with the adversity it presents us,” Brown said. That adversity seemed genuine against a Blue Rebels squad that came in at 2-7. Wittenberg, 10-0, struggled through the first half and trailed, 39-38, at the break. The Tigers would have faced more trouble had Wolfe not knocked down 14 of his points the first 20 minutes, including eight in a span of 1:55. His previous career high was 16 his freshman year. Junior John Burns of North started in place of Croci, finishing with four points and five assists. “Some of the guys were a little concerned with the offense the first half, but it was really the defense (that was hurting the Tigers),” Brown said. The defense picked up after intermission and Wittenberg took the lead for good, 46-45, on a Luke Ragan bucket with 17:00 remaining. But Thomas More rallied from a 12-point deficit with just over 10 minutes left to cut the margin to 67-63 at 6:02. Enter Perry, who buried a jumper and immediately followed with a three-pointer to push the spread to 72-63 at 5:23. The Rebels never recovered, failing to score in the last three minutes. Perry, whose previous best point output was 11 earlier this season, said the Tigers knew they were in for a challenge with Croci dressed in street clothes rather than shorts and high-tops. “It was a rough ride up here and we came out flat, but we’ve got a lot of pride in the lockerroom,” Perry said. “We all knew we had to raise our game a level to pick up the scoring.” Perry actually raised his game a notch at practice Sunday, Brown said. “I don’t think he missed a shot in practice. He’s always razor sharp, but he was extra sharp last night,” Brown said. Perry hit 9 of 12 shots against the Rebels, including 4 of 6 from three-point range and all four of his free throw attempts. Point guard Anthony Robinson chipped in 11 points and handed out six assists, although he also committed five turnovers. Ragan added 10 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Wittenberg dominated on the boards, gaining a remarkable 42-20 advantage. “We didn’t rebound well the first half, but Luke did a good job on the boards the second half,” Brown said. “Seniors are going to do that.” Ironically, Thomas More also went part of the game without its top scorer, 6-7 sophomore Rick Hughes, who sat the first five minutes for disciplinary reasons. Hughes, who averages 25 points, was held to 10. The Rebels were led by David Mueller’s 17 points. Markel Snyder added 10.
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