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Salem, Va. - The College of Wooster staved off a series of second-half rallies by home-state favorite Hampden-Sydney College to hang on for a wire-to-wire 78-74 victory in the NCAA Div. III Tournament third-place game Saturday at the Salem Civic Center, as Wooster sealed its best season in school history with win No. 30 at its first "Final Four." Trailing the whole game, Hampden-Sydney (28-4) tied it at 70-70 with 2:15 remaining in regulation. Then, Rodney Mitchell (Elida, Ohio / Elida) made the play of the game, hitting a three-pointer from the left baseline as the shot clock horn went off to put the Scots ahead 73-70. The Tigers came back with a pair of free throws to get within one again, but Wooster, which had trouble with the press at times, broke it on a length of the course pass to senior Matt Smith (Elida, Ohio / Elida), who then found classmate Bryan Nelson (Kettering, Ohio / Kettering Fairmont) underneath for the easy basket and another three-point lead (75-72). Jeff Monroe, as he did all day long though, answered with an elbow jumper for Hampden-Sydney to get back within one. Monroe had 27 points in the loss. Mitchell then came up with his second big play in the final moments, as he drove to the basket and was bumped, drawing the foul. He calmly sunk both free throws with 21.5 seconds remaining to put the Scots up 77-74. The Tigers' final possession saw Monroe try to tie it, but his three-pointer from the left baseline, defended well by Smith, was long and Kyle Witucky (Zanesville, Ohio / Zanesville) came down with the rebound. He sealed with a free throw. Prior to Hampden-Sydney's 13-4 run to tie it, the closest the Tigers had gotten was seven on several occasions in the second half. Post player Bryan Nelson (Kettering, Ohio / Kettering Fairmont) put a cap on his illustrious career with the Scots by scoring 29 points, including 11-of-11 free throws, and grabbing nine rebounds, giving him 1957 points and 961 rebounds for his career. Smith, who finished with 14 points, including four three-pointers, also set the Wooster career three-point record with 222 and the single-season record with 67. Also finishing in double figures was Mitchell, who had 11 points.
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