Late Comeback Ends Up Just Short, as Scots Fall 74-71

Matt Schlingman scored a team-high 17 points to lead three Scots in double figures.

WOOSTER, Ohio – Ryan Snyder’s (Sebring, Ohio / Sebring McKinley) last-second three-pointer was off target, ending a College of Wooster comeback bid, which saw the Scots get a chance to send the game into overtime after trailing 72-64 with :32 left, and Capital University hung on for the 74-71 decision in the second game of the inaugural North Coast Athletic Conference/Ohio Athletic Conference Challenge.

It marked the end of Wooster’s 15-game winning streak at Timken Gymnasium.

Down by eight, the Scots (2-1) took possession with 47 ticks remaining. They missed two shots, but corralled the offensive rebound each time, followed by a foul. Snyder canned both free throws.

Then, Capital (3-0) missed the front end of a one-and-one. Wooster’s Tom Port (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) grabbed the defensive rebound, took it himself up court, and buried a three to make it 72-69 at the :22 mark.

After a Scot timeout, Wooster stole the in-bounds pass. Port missed a potential tying three-pointer, however, 5-10 teammate Rodney Mitchell (Elida, Ohio / Elida) skied for the rebound and was fouled going back up with it. Mitchell connected on two from the charity stripe to cut the lead to 72-71 with :15 left.

Before the Crusaders could throw the ball into play, Snyder was called for a foul. Adam Stolly calmly sunk both free throws, giving him the last two of his game-high 18 points and putting his squad back on top by three.

Still with :15 remaining, Mitchell drove the ball up court, nearly lost it, but still recovered and launched an off-balance three at the :05 mark. It was short and to the left, but the Scots wound up with another chance after a Capital player came down with the ball out-of-bounds with exactly 3.0 showing on the clock.

Out of a Wooster timeout, Snyder caught the in-bounds pass while running across the baseline, stepped behind the arc, took one dribble to get a Crusader in the air, and briefly had an open look before another Capital player came flying at him. His shot was long.

The Scots led by as much as 12 (22-10), and were ahead 28-17 with 5:30 to play in the opening half before the Crusaders went on a 14-5 run to go into the break down 33-31.

Capital carried the momentum into the second stanza, immediately tying the game (33-31), taking its first lead since the early stages of the game a short while after (38-36), and then going ahead 47-38 at the 13-minute mark.

The Crusaders outscored Wooster 30-10 during that stretch.

Statistically, Capital held significant advantages over the Scots, outshooting them .587 (27-for-46) to .389 (21-for-54) from the field, including .500 (6-for-12) and .200 (5-for-25) from three-point range, while Wooster was able to stay in it with a 33-26 edge in rebounding.

Stolly got his scoring on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 2-of-2 threes, while Tyler Schleich also made both of his three-point attempts and helped out with 16 points on 6-of-7 field goals in the win.

Matt Schlingman (Ashland, Ohio / Ashland) scored a team-high 17 points in the losing effort, while Port chipped in 15 markers and nine rebounds.

The first game of the night at Timken Gymnasium also came down to the final shot, as Chris Blakely’s put-back attempt off of an offensive rebound for Mt. Union College at the buzzer rimmed out, and the NCAC’s Ohio Wesleyan University hung on for a 77-76 victory.

Mt. Union (2-1) never led in the game and was down by as much as 20 early in the second half (50-30) before mounting a comeback. The Purple Raiders, paced by Rob Paulauskas’ team-high 20 points, trimmed a 62-44 game all the way down to 67-65, still with 5:00 to play.

Ohio Wesleyan (2-2), though, did just enough to earn the win, as it was led by 20 points apiece from Travis Schwab and Charlie Smith.

The four teams will travel to Alliance, Ohio, and switch NCAC vs. OAC match-ups on Sunday, as Capital and Ohio Wesleyan will meet in a neutral-site battle at 4 p.m., followed by the Scots and host Mt. Union.