Bryan Nelson scores during the first half of Wooster's game with Williams. Nelson finished with 29 points and nine rebounds despite playing with sprained ankle.

Box Score

Salem, Va. - After winning two of its first three NCAA Div. III Tournament games in the waning moments, The College of Wooster found itself on the other end of a thriller during its first-ever œFinal Four” appearance on Saturday evening at the Salem Civic Center.

Williams (Mass.) College's Drew DeMuth converted a tip-in as the horn sounded at the end of the first overtime, giving his squad a 74-72 victory and the school's first spot in the Div. III national championship game, which will be played Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

Wooster (29-3) will play in the third-place game against the loser of Saturday's second national semifinal - Gustavus Adolphus College vs. Hampden-Sydney College - at 1:30 p.m.

As the shot clock wound down on the final possession of the extra session, Williams' (30-1) Michael Crotty tossed up a long three-pointer. It bounced off of the rim and the shot clock went off. Some of the Scots may have frozen for a moment, as they thought it was the game clock going off, sending the contest into a second overtime.

Unfortunately for Wooster, what followed was a heartbreaking sequence that started with a long offensive rebound by Chuck Abba. He then quickly misfired on a potential game-winner, and after another quick tip, DeMuth, who became uncovered in the chaos of the final moments, eventually got his hands on the ball and put it in from the right side.

Prior to that the overtime featured four ties at 66, 68, 70, and 72.

The Scots, playing their first overtime game since Jan. 27, 1999 (96-83 win over Allegheny College), never were able to get ahead in the extra session, despite stopping the Ephs' on two consecutive trips after it was tied 70-70.

Forty minutes certainly weren't enough for these two teams to determine a winner, as the second half alone featured neither team leading by more than five points, including eight ties and four lead changes.

Wooster appeared to be in good shape, leading 58-53 after Rodney Mitchell (Elida, Ohio / Elida) knocked down a three and made a successful drive to the basket on back-to-back possessions around the five-minute mark.

However, Williams responded with the biggest run of the game - seven-straight, capped by a steal in the backcourt and lay-up after Matt Schlingman (Ashland, Ohio / Ashland) had corralled a defensive rebound to give the Ephs a 60-58 advantage.

A pair of free throws by Bryan Nelson (Kettering, Ohio / Kettering Fairmont), who finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, and three assists to lead the Scots in all three categories, on the ensuing possession tied it right back up.

Mitchell gave Wooster its final lead (64-62) after getting free for a lay-up underneath with :26 remaining in regulation only to see the Ephs' Benjamin Coffin score two of his game-high 33 points to even it once again.

Both teams still had chances to win it in regulation. First, Mitchell, who hit a game-winner in the Scots' NCAA second-round game, drove to the hoop. Instead of taking the shot, he passed it to Nelson, but a Williams player tipped it and the ball went out-of-bounds off of Wooster.

The Ephs got it to half-court with 0.4 seconds left, but a lob in-bounds pass was intercepted by Schlingman.

In the first half, Williams took early leads of 5-1 and 7-3, but the Scots quickly tied it back up at 7, 9, 12, 14, and 16. Wooster went on to go ahead 18-16 and 23-18, and entered halftime up 34-32.

Nelson's 29 markers, included 13-of-14 free throws, while Schlingman joined him in double figures with 13 points to lead the Scots.

Coffin, who hit 14-of-24 field goals and also posted a team-leading nine boards, was complemented by DeMutch and Tim Folan, who each had 11 points. The Ephs' other big contributor was Michael Crotty, who dished out 10 of their 12 assists.

Overall, Wooster shot better, hitting 54.5 percent from the field (24-of-44) compared to Williams' 45.1 rate (32-of-71) and outrebounded Williams 36-28, but was done in by 22 turnovers.ÉÉÉÉÉ

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