Scots Triumph 80-73 Over No. 8 Rated Team in NAIA Div. I

Brandon Johnson goes in for a lay-up over Georgetown's Donnovan Brown Tuesday.

WOOSTER, Ohio — The College of Wooster overcame a slight deficit midway through the second half and steadily pulled away to an 80-73 victory over Georgetown (Ky.) College in men’s basketball action Tuesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

It marked Wooster’s second-straight win over an NAIA rated team, as the Fighting Scots, who are ranked No. 2 in NCAA Div. III, defeated Walsh University 85-68 three nights ago. Walsh is rated No. 7 in NAIA Div. II, but Georgetown presented a more formidable task, based on its No. 8 rating in NAIA Div. I.

On Tuesday, the visiting Tigers (7-2) clawed back from a 35-29 halftime deficit, scoring nine unanswered points to start the second and maintained that lead for all but one possession up until the 12:00 mark. Then, it was Wooster’s turn to rally, starting with a pair of free throws by James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) and a 3-pointer by Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) after he collected the loose ball off of his own missed 3-point attempt. That made it a 4-point Scot lead (48-44).

Shortly thereafter, Wooster (4-0) would extend its advantage to 53-46 on a Cooper 3-pointer with 9:02 left, and it remained a two-possession game nearly the rest of the way. The closest Georgetown would get was 63-60 at the 4:54 mark, however, the Scots responded with a couple of free throws by Tom Port (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) on the next possession and a jumper by Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) that put them ahead by seven (67-60).

It stayed a 5-to-9-point margin over the final four minutes, with Wooster canning 9-of-10 free throws during that stretch. Free throw shooting may have been the key statistic of the game, as the Scots ended up connecting on 21-of-23 (.913) from the charity stripe to the Tigers’ 17-of-25 (.680).

Individually, Wooster was led in the scoring department by Tim Vandervaart (North Canton, Ohio / Hoover) for the third consecutive game. He had 22 points and also collected 14 rebounds, pacing the Scots in that category as well.

Also in double figures for Wooster were Port with 16 tallies in the scorebook, Cooper with 14, 12 of which came over the last 12 minutes, and Fulk with 13, including 3-of-5 3-pointers. Noteworthy, Johnson contributed in several areas, posting six points, eight boards, and five assists, compared to one turnover.

Georgetown put four in double-digits, led by Chris Lee’s 22 on 9-of-12 field goals in the post. He also pulled down a team-high six rebounds, another key category for the Scots as they held a 43-30 advantage for the game.

Next, Wooster begins defense of its North Coast Athletic Conference championship Saturday afternoon when it hosts Earlham College (0-4, 0-0 NCAC).