Scots Look to Clinch NCAC Title Outright on “Senior Night”

Tom Port has averaged 18 points and 6.8 rebounds per game over the last nine contests.

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The College of Wooster is not only aiming to send out its four seniors – Jeff Clapacs, Tom Port, Andy Van Horn, and Tim Vandervaart – with a win Saturday evening in their final regular season appearance at Timken Gymnasium, but the Fighting Scots can clinch the North Coast Athletic Conference championship outright as well as the No. 1 seed for the NCAC tourney.

Wooster enters with a one-game lead in the NCAC standings and certainly has no desire to share the title with rival Wittenberg University, but Saturday’s opponent, Ohio Wesleyan University, presents a formidable task. The Battling Bishops have locked up third-place in the conference and gave the Scots all they could handle in the teams’ meeting four weeks ago, which Wooster won 61-54.

A lot has changed for both teams since that game, as injuries have forced the squads to adjust their lineups. Vandervaart sustained a fractured left wrist while attempting to take a charge late in the first Ohio Wesleyan game and has not played since. The Bishops’ top all-around player, Ben Chojnacki, suffered a knee injury on Jan. 31, and has not been back on the floor either.

The Scots and Bishops have exhibited the depth to overcome those setbacks, as the only loss each has taken since the respective injuries were close decisions to Wittenberg. Wooster misses Vandervaart’s 14.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, and variety of tangibles, while Ohio Wesleyan has been without its top scorer (15.0 ppg), second-leading rebounder (6.4 rpg), and the NCAC’s leading 3-point shooter (.522; 36-for-69).

Stepping up in place of Vandervaart have been Port and Evan Will in the post among others. Port’s inside-outside game has led to an average of 18.0 points and 6.8 rebounds over the last nine games, while Will’s at 9.1 points and 8.0 boards during this stretch.

The Bishops have been more reliant on Jesse Jean without Chojnacki. Jean has taken his game to a higher level, averaging 15.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in the month of February.

In the backcourt, the Scots will look to outduel Ohio Wesleyan with the likes of Brandon Johnson, James Cooper, and Devin Fulk. Johnson is the league leader in steals (2.1 spg) and third in assists (3.5 apg) to go with 10.7 points an outing, Cooper ranks as the fourth-leading scorer (17.8 ppg), and Fulk is the NCAC’s most proficient 3-point shooter outside of Chojnacki, having made exactly 50 percent (54-for-108).

The Bishops counter with Casey Teeters, who primarily distributes the ball from his point guard position, Matt Shirer, a streaky shooter who averages 9.1 points, and Brian Cafarella, who has sparked them off the bench with 40 3-pointers.