15th-Ranked Wooster Hosting Hiram Wednesday, Wabash Saturday

Evan Will

The College of Wooster, which climbed the D3hoops.com national top-25 poll three more spots to No. 15, has two North Coast Athletic Conference home games scheduled for this week, as the Fighting Scots look to stay tied for first in the league standings. On Wednesday night, Feb. 6, Hiram College (7-12, 4-6 NCAC), currently in a sixth-place tie in the conference, visits 3,400-seat Timken Gymnasium for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. Wooster won the teams’ first match-up this season rather handily, 117-87, three weeks ago, however, Hiram has won three of five games since then and is coming off a near-upset of Wittenberg University, dropping a 91-85 decision to the NCAC co-leaders. The Scots will also face a challenge for the second consecutive Saturday when they host Wabash College (13-6, 7-3 NCAC), which enters the week tied for third, on Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. Earlier this year, Wooster overcame an 11-point second-half deficit, taking a late lead and then using a final defensive stand to escape Wabash with a 72-70 triumph.

Last Week: The Scots won both of their games, continuing to stay tied atop the NCAC (9-1) and improving to 16-3 overall.

On Jan. 30, Wooster overcame a cool shooting night for its standards, instead utilizing a strong defensive effort to key its 78-61 win at Allegheny College, as the Scots equaled a season high with 15 steals and owned a 41-29 rebounding advantage in the NCAC contest at Meadville, Pa. Wooster never trailed, stringing together separate 10-0, 8-0, and 11-0 runs during the opening half en route to an 18-point bulge (41-23). The Gators trimmed a 43-28 halftime deficit down to 53-41 only to see the Scots go on a 13-4 game-clinching stretch (66-45). Wooster entered as the NCAA Div. III statistical leader in 3-point percentage (.468), but made just 5-of-21 (.238) and was at 43.9 percent from the field overall (29-of-66). The Scots held a significant edge at the foul line, though, canning 15-of-20, compared to 7-of-16 for the hosts. Individually, five Wooster players reached double figures, paced by Marty Bidwell’s (Middletown, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) 16 points. Evan Will (Dublin, Ohio / Dublin Coffman) produced one of his best games of the season, scoring 14 points, to go with a game-high eight rebounds and career-high five blocked shots. James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) registered 11 points and season-high five assists, while Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) and Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) also contributed 11 points apiece.

On Feb. 2, the Scots received a career-high 27 points from Will, and Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) and Cooper made a series of key plays during the final two-plus minutes to hold off Ohio Wesleyan University 73-65 in a hard-fought NCAC game at Timken Gym. The crucial sequence came when Johnson blocked a fast-break lay-up attempt by Ohio Wesleyan to preserve a 63-60 lead with just over 2:00 to go, and on the ensuing possession, Cooper sunk a long-distance 3-pointer at the 1:42 mark. The Battling Bishops pulled back within four (66-62) and then the Scots worked the game clock down under a minute before Johnson buried a 3-pointer for a 69-62 cushion. The closest Ohio Wesleyan made it the rest of the way was 70-65, as Wooster connected on 4-of-6 free throws over the final :37 to secure the victory. After taking a 36-32 halftime lead, the Scots maintained a 1-to-7-point margin until the final free throw. Will’s 27 – six more points than his previous best – came on 11-of-14 field goals, including a career-high four 3-pointers (4-of-6), during 36 minutes, which equaled a career-high for that category. Other top contributors were Johnson and Cooper with 17 and 13 points, respectively. In addition, Johnson and Fulk each had five rebounds to lead the squad, while Bidwell passed out a game-high four assists.

This and That: Senior guard Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) needs just 16 points to become the 32nd player in school history with 1,000 career points. Wooster’s sharp-shooting sixth man also figures to finish as the program’s career leader in both 3-point percentage (.487; 187-for-384) and free throw percentage (.926; 113-for-122) ... As a team, the Scots lead the league in scoring offense (86.8 ppg) and in all three shooting categories – field-goal percentage (.506), 3-point percentage (.461), and free throw percentage (.741) – as well as rebounding margin (+6.8 per game) and assists (15.9 apg).