Scots Open NCAA Tourney With Rematch of Last Year's 3rd-Place Game

Brandon Johnson

» Live Stats

The College of Wooster will be part of arguably the most intriguing first round game of the 2008 NCAA Div. III Tournament, as the Fighting Scots are paired with Washington University-St. Louis (19-6) in a rematch of last season’s national 3rd-place game at the “Final Four.” This year’s meeting will take place on the campus of Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., on Friday, March 7, at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time. Aurora University (22-6) will play host Augustana (22-5) following the Washington-Wooster game, and the two winners will match-up Saturday, March 8, at 7 p.m., for the right to advance to next weekend’s sectional round, otherwise known as the “Sweet 16.” All three games will be at Augustana’s 3,300-seat Carver Physical Education Center.

Wooster, ranked No. 17 in the latest D3hoops.com top-25 national poll, lost in the semifinals of last week’s North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, but received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament via its 23-4 overall record. The Scots began the season an uncharacteristic 2-2, but have gone 21-2 since while winning the NCAC regular season championship (15-1). Washington, the preseason No. 1 ranked team by D3hoops.com, is currently No. 11 after tying for second-place in the highly-competitive University Athletic Association (10-4), and also was on the receiving end of an at-large bid to the NCAA field. The Bears are looking to repeat their run to the “Final Four” from a year ago, when they finished third after knocking off the Scots 92-84 in the consolation game.

Augustana, ranked No. 6 by D3hoops.com, earned its third-straight spot in the NCAA Tournament by winning the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament again (the Vikings were also CCIW regular season champs), while Aurora was another at-large recipient. The Spartans won the Northern Athletics Conference championship in the regular season (16-2) and then took runner-up at the NAC Tournament.

On the Air: For those Wooster fans who won’t be able to make the trip to Rock Island, Ill., live audio from the Wooster game(s) can be heard as always throughout northeast Ohio and over the Internet (www.wooster.edu/interactive), courtesy of WQKT 104.5 FM. Calling the action will be Mike Breckenridge.

NCAA Tourney Notes: The Scots are making their 17th appearance in the NCAA Div. III tourney. Only seven others have been in as many – Calvin College (17), Franklin & Marshall College (19), Hope College (19), Illinois Wesleyan University (18), Salem State College (21), Univ. of Scranton (21), and Wittenberg University (24).

Wooster, which also played in two other NCAA Tournaments prior to Div. III (1971, 1973), has been in the national field 13 of the last 14 seasons and 16 times since 1990. The Scots’ all-time record in the Div. III tourney is 17-17 – 11-5 in games played at Timken Gymnasium, 5-4 in neutral-site games, and 1-8 in true road games. Wooster has reached the Div. III sectional round (“Sweet 16”) five times over the last nine years, highlighted by runs to the “Final Four” in 2003 and 2007.

All-Time Series: Last season’s Washington-Wooster match-up was just their second meeting. The Bears have won both, 92-84 in the 2007 national 3rd-place game and 77-67 in St. Louis back on Dec. 16, 1982, when none of today’s players were even born.

The Scots have played both Augustana and Aurora just once previously, each traveling to one of Wooster’s annual tournaments. During the first round of the 1968 “Mose” Hole/Kiwanis Classic, the Scots cruised past Augustana 74-53, and in the 2000 Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic, Wooster edged Aurora in a high-scoring affair, 96-90.

Head Coach Steve Moore: The architect behind the winningest NCAA men’s basketball team of the 2000s is Steve Moore. In addition to guiding Wooster to 232 victories this decade, he carries a 21-year record of 490-112 (.814) with the Fighting Scots. Prior to coming to Wooster in 1987-88, Moore coached Muhlenberg College for six seasons and was successful there as well, giving him a career record of 577-177 (.765), which puts him tied for seventh all-time in wins for Div. III coaches. Moore has seven Coach-of-the-Year honors from the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Conference Tourney Recap: Wooster hosted the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament for the fourth year in a row via its regular season championship, but did not advance to the title game for the first time since 1996. The Scots had owned a remarkable streak of 11 consecutive NCAC tourney finals’ appearances (1997-2007), winning seven of them. What follows are summaries of Wooster’s quarterfinal and semifinal games from last week.

On Feb. 26, James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) became just the second player in the tradition-rich Fighting Scots’ men’s basketball program to score 2,000 career points during their 104-71 win over Oberlin College in NCAC Tournament quarterfinal action at Timken Gymnasium. Cooper made a couple of free throws with 4:26 remaining in the second half to reach the milestone and was then taken out to a rousing ovation. He joined the legendary Tom Dinger (2,370 points from 1967-71) as the only two Wooster players to accomplish the feat, and he’s the third in NCAC history to do so, with Scott Tedder of Ohio Wesleyan University (2,501 points from 1984-88) and Oberlin’s Chip Winiarski (2,303 points from 1986-90) being the others. As for the game itself, the Scots got off to a quick start, scoring the first eight points, and steadily pushed the lead out from there, including 46-24 at one point in the first half and 51-32 at halftime. The lead never dipped below 15 during the second half. For the game, Cooper had 28 points, 12 coming at the free throw line (12-for-15). Marty Bidwell (Middletown, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) scored 14 points, highlighted by a second-half dunk, and Robert Melick (Gambier, Ohio / Mt. Vernon) reached double figures with 12.

On Feb. 29, Wooster started the second half on an 11-2 burst, pulling within 48-44, but Wabash College effectively weathered the storm and then pulled away to an 87-63 victory at Timken Gymnasium, knocking the Scots out of the NCAC Tournament in the semifinals. Wabash took control right from the outset, as it built a 15-6 lead just over four minutes in, and after Wooster closed within 17-12, the Little Giants added a 9-1 run for a double-digit cushion (26-13). Adding to the Scots’ woes, Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) had to leave the game at that point due to an ankle injury and was never able to return. The margin remained at 9-to-16 points for the rest of the half, including 46-33 after Wabash connected on a 3-pointer right before the buzzer. Wooster, behind Cooper and Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep), opened the second with a flurry as they combined for nine points of that aforementioned 11-2 run to cut it to 48-44. Moments later, the score stood 51-46 and then the Little Giants reeled off 15 points while keeping the Scots off the scoreboard, resulting in a game-clinching 20-point advantage (66-46). Cooper, Wickliffe, and Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) each tallied 14 points, and Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) was a bright spot with a season-high 12 points.

All-Tournament Team: For his efforts, James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) was Wooster’s representative on the all-North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Team. Over the two games, he totaled 42 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

Rare Blowout Loss: Last Friday night’s 24-point setback at the hands of Wabash College was a rare sight for Fighting Scot fans. It marked the end of a 21-game home winning streak and the 24-point differential was Wooster’s largest margin of defeat since falling 82-53 to eventual national champ Calvin College in the 2000 NCAA Div. III Tournament. Also, it marked the Scots’ worst home loss since Jan. 14, 1987, when Ohio Wesleyan University blitzed Wooster 110-77.

Against the NCAA Field: Wooster played four teams during the season that are now in the 2008 NCAA Div. III Tournament – Farmingdale State College, Ohio Wesleyan University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) – and combined for a 5-0 record in those games. The Scots hosted Farmingdale State and St. Thomas (Minn.) at their season-opening Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic, prevailing 106-81 and 85-79, respectively. About a month later, Wooster met up with St. Mary’s (Md.) at the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout and pulled away from the Seahawks in the second half to an 85-70 victory. The Scots swept NCAC Tournament-champion Ohio Wesleyan during the regular season, earning hard-fought wins by scores of 80-77 on Dec. 8 and 73-65 on Feb. 2.

Cooper, Fulk Chasing Former Teammate’s NCAA Div. III Record: Entering this weekend, senior guards James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) and Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) have each played in 121 career games. The NCAA Div. III national record is held by former Fighting Scot point guard Kyle Witucky with 123 games played from 2003-06.

Also in the NCAA Record Book: Sharp-shooter Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) reached a milestone last week with his 200th career 3-pointer made. That gave him the minimum number needed for inclusion in the NCAA record book, and he now sits sixth in Div. III history with a 3-point percentage of .491 (202-for-411).

Three-Point Threats: Wooster employs an efficient, high-powered offense, highlighted by its 3-point shooting ability. The Scots lead NCAA Div. III in 3-point percentage (.443; 236-for-533), part of their conference-best 86.2 points per game. Wooster has now paced the NCAC in scoring offense five years in a row.

This and That: Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) is closing in on the 1,000-point milestone, as the junior has 966 career points. He’s already eighth in school history in assists (300) and fifth in steals (145) ... Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) made a remarkable 41 consecutive free throw attempts from Dec. 16, 2006, to Jan. 12, 2008, including his first 23 this season. The streak is believed to be a school record ... The Scots went 2-1 against scholarship programs, beating Walsh University (89-88), which is currently No. 4 in NAIA Div. II, and Notre Dame (Ohio) College (87-71), and falling to Cedarville University (65-61), No. 18 in the latest NAIA Div. II ratings ... Wooster suffered back-to-back losses during the regular season (Nov. 25, Dec. 1) for just the second time in 11 years.