SATURDAY’S GAME

The beard SPRINGFIELD — lives on in Springfield.

Wittenberg men’s basketball coach Matt Croci says he won’t shave until his team loses this season and the Tigers made sure the growth will continue with a 93-72 win over Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday night at Pam Evans Smith Arena.

The Tigers (16-0, 9-0) climbed to No. 5 in the D3hoops.com poll this week and promptly proved they belonged, beating the No. 23 Battlin’ Bishops (11-5, 6-3) in a North Coast Athletic Conference showdown.

The Tigers made their first five shots and when the sixth bounced off the rim, Chad Roy was there to tip it in.

It was a big night for former Southeastern High school standout Jacob Bertemes. Wittenberg at Allegheny, 2 p.m. The 5-foot-11 sophomore hit 11 of 16 shots on his way to 27 points. Bertemes also had seven assists.

Wittenberg shot 59 percent from the field thanks to a dominating presence inside. Roy, a 6-10 center, scored 22 points and Connor Seipel, a 6-6 forward, added 16 and 11 rebounds.

The win was the 100th career win for Croci.

The Tigers put their streak on the line in Meadville, Pa., Saturday against Allegheny. Wittenberg is back Wednesday against DePauw for the first of three straight games at Pam Evans Smith Arena. Contact this reporter at 937259-2142 or email Mike. Hartsock@cmgohio.com.