Scots, Yellow Jackets Headline NCAA First-Round Games

Tom Port and company are hoping to take Wooster deep into the NCAA tourney for the third consecutive year.

Timken Gymnasium may be home to the most competitive, entertaining game of the 2005 NCAA Div. III Tournament first round. Not only does it pair two local schools (approx. 50 miles apart) and teams that were formerly members of the same conference, but Baldwin-Wallace College (20-8) and The College of Wooster (26-2) have combined for more victories this season than any other opening-round match-up. The only one which compares is also within the Great Lakes Region Ø Bethany (W. Va.) College (24-3) vs. John Carroll University (22-5).

Baldwin-Wallace had been ranked among the top-25 (D3hoops.com) for the majority of the year, but after losing four of its last five conference games and dropping to the No. 6 seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference, the Yellow Jackets found their season on the brink. Long-time head coach Steve Bankson, though, rallied the troops, as Baldwin-Wallace utilized overtime to get past Otterbein College 78-76 in the quarterfinals and then dismantled Mt. Union College in the semifinals 85-50, which set up a showdown with No. 1 seed John Carroll. After the Blue Streaks gained a 39-35 halftime lead, the Yellow Jackets stormed back in the second, going ahead by as much as 73-59 with 4:11 remaining before needing to hold off a late rally (82-77).

Leading Baldwin-Wallace´s march to the NCAA tourney has been brothers Thad and Tori Davis. One Davis brother or the other has led the team in scoring in all but two games this season, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the Yellow Jackets´ total offense (.482).

Thad Davis, a senior, became just the second player in team history to earn OAC Player-of-the-Year honors earlier this week. He was an easy choice for the award, as the 6-4, 225-pound forward averaged a double-double. In fact, Davis, who has totaled 1,906 points and 984 rebounds in his career, currently ranks among the top-40 in Div. III in scoring (20.2 ppg) and ninth in rebounding (11.8 rpg). His .591 field-goal percentage and 2.11 blocks per game put him among the top-five in the OAC in those categories as well.

Equally impressive has been younger sibling, Tori Davis, most notably at the just completed OAC Tournament. The sophomore led Baldwin-Wallace to the title, averaging 27.7 points and 10.3 rebounds over the three games, highlighted by a career-high 41-point effort at Otterbein. On the season, he finished second to his brother in the OAC in scoring (18.8 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.7 rpg). Tori Davis leads the league in field-goal percentage (.608) and blocked shots (2.18 per game).

The Yellow Jackets also feature a pair of significant weapons on the outside in senior point guard Tom Harrington and junior shooting guard Keith Aufmuth. Harrington was honorable mention All-OAC after being the conference´s assist leader (5.75 per game) and rating among the top-five in 3-point percentage (.437), while chipping in 8.9 points per outing. Aufumuth, who has the ability to create scoring opportunities off drives as well as light it up from the outside (48 3-pointers made), averages just under 10 points (9.9).

Wooster has been one of the top teams in Div. III all season, according to the rankings. D3hoops.com has placed the Scots among its top-five every week, including No. 1 twice. Wooster, currently ranked No. 5, comes into tonight with a 26-2 record and as the North Coast Athletic Conference champions.

Whereas Baldwin-Wallace relies heavily on four players for most of its scoring, nine different Scots have led the team, or tied for the team high, in points during a game this year. Leading the balanced attack are junior first-team all-conference honorees Tom Port and Kyle Witucky. Port, a swingman, leads the team with 13.5 points per game, and is tied with Witucky in assists (99) and second in rebounding (6.3 rpg). Witucky, who runs the offense from his point guard spot, averages a shade under 10 points (9.7 ppg) while topping the NCAC in 3-point percentage (.467) and passing out 3.54 assists per contest.

Also bestowed with all-league recognition were senior center Matt Schlingman (second-team honors) and sophomore forward Tim Vandervaart (honorable mention). Schlingman is the Scots´ second-leading scorer (12.0 ppg) and on his way to a school record for field-goal percentage in a season (.692). Vandervaart has come into his own, posting averages of 8.0 points and a team-best 7.0 boards while also leading the squad in blocks (1.04 per game) and steals (1.32 per game). Fellow sophomore Andy Van Horn has also flourished in the starting role, averaging 6.3 points, which includes 49.1 percent shooting from 3-point range (29-for-46).

Bench play has been a key to Wooster´s success all season long. Led by the likes of senior forward Blake Mealer, who is averaging 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds, and freshman guard James Cooper, who is tossing in nearly 10 points a game (9.8), more than 40 percent of the Scots´ scoring has come from reserves (.409).

The winner of today´s game will have to quickly regroup, as it will travel to Albion College in Albion, Mich. (90 miles west of Detroit) for an NCAA Tournament second-round game on Saturday, March 5. The Britons are 24-3 overall and champions of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (12-2).