The Tigers have stormed out of the gate to a five and two record in their first seven games on the year.
The Tigers opened up the 2015-2016 ledger with two straight victories against OAC opponents in the OAC/NCAC Challenge. First, the Tigers dispatched Capital by 12 points at Otterbein and then drummed the host Cardinals by 30 points.
The Tigers then opened conference play by besting the Oberlin Yeoman 80-68. The Tiger offensive breakout was buoyed by junior Jaelin William’s 15 points.
The Tiger basketball bunch spent its Thanksgiving weekend in Memphis, Tennessee, where they spent Saturday racing past Millikin University 79-64. Junior Cody Phillippi led the Tigers with 16 points. However, the Tigers lost their next match — a thriller — 69-67 to Simpson University.
The Tigers then opened NCAC road play with a 10-point victory at Wabash, besting the Little Giants 74-64. Williams dropped 23 on the boys of Crawfordsville.
The Tigers then suffered their second loss on the year at home against Allegheny. The Tigers had a 9-2 lead to open the contest, but fell 64-54 and will take the court again at Denison on Saturday.
Last season, the Tigers did not grab their fifth win and second NCAC victory until Jan. 21. On the year, the Tigers are shooting 46 percent from the field, up from 42 percent last year. The increase in shooting has been part of an improved offensive output that has lead to a 10-point increase in the Tigers per game scoring average. The Tigers are led on offense by Williams, who is averaging 13.4 points a game, up three points from last year. Phillippi is also averaging 8.9 points.
