Port's Play Down Stretch Keys Scots' 68-65 Win Over Wittenberg

Tom Port

Tom Port (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) made a series of key plays during the final 45 seconds, first grabbing an offensive rebound and taking it to the left corner where he drained a 3-pointer to give The College of Wooster a 66-65 lead, and then stealing the ball on the ensuing possession, which lifted the No. 1 ranked Fighting Scots to a 68-65 victory over No. 6 Wittenberg University Saturday night at Springfield, Ohio.

It was the first meeting of the two North Coast Athletic Conference rivals in 2006-07, and Wooster gained the early advantage in the race for the conference championship, needing a late rally to do it, though, after previously leading most of the second half.

The visiting Scots (7-0, 3-0 NCAC) had built a 54-44 cushion with just under nine minutes remaining. Wittenberg (6-1, 1-1 NCAC) responded quickly to the only double-digit lead of the game, as a jump hook in the lane by Dane Borchers and a Gregg Hill lay-up following a Wooster turnover made it a two-possession game (54-48).

The margin stayed between five and eight points during the next several minutes. The Scots held a 60-53 advantage around the five-minute mark only to see the Tigers run off nine unanswered points, taking a two-point lead (62-60).

Wooster briefly regained the lead via a Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) 3-pointer from the left wing, but Hill nailed a 3-ball from the left side during a second successive Wittenberg possession, making it 65-63 with 1:36 to play.

The Tigers would have an opportunity to make it a two-possession game in their favor, however, Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) came up with a key steal with just over a minute on the clock.

Johnson was the first to attempt to give the Scots back the lead, firing up a 3-point attempt from the right side. It was off the mark, but Port worked his way to the rebound, and with his momentum carrying him to the left corner, turned around and buried one from the outside for a one-point edge (66-65).

After a timeout, Wittenberg attempted to get the ball inside only to see Port there for the steal. He passed it up to Fulk, who was fouled with :07 showing on the clock. Fulk made both free throws (68-65), forcing the Tigers to attempt a 3-pointer.

Following a couple timeouts, Wittenberg sprinted up the court and ended up getting the ball in the hands of post player Jack Hemenway at the top of the key. Hemenway’s shot rattled in-and-out, sealing the game.

In the first half, Wooster scored the first seven points and was ahead or tied the opening 15 minutes. Then, the lead traded sides several times, with the Scots eventually holding a 36-34 edge at the break.

As expected, the game was a back-and-forth battle. There were 12 lead changes and eight ties. Statistically, each team made 22 field goals and 16 free throws, with the difference being three additional 3-pointers for Wooster (8-5). The squads also each distributed nine assists, but another key difference may have been rebounding where the Scots owned a 36-29 advantage.

Individually, Johnson paced Wooster in both scoring and rebounding, as the point guard put 18 tallies in the scorebook and grabbed eight rebounds. Port contributed 13 points, despite not playing his usual amount of minutes due to foul trouble, and James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) chipped in 11 during another return trip to his hometown.

The Tigers held a significant advantage inside, as Borchers produced a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds, leading all players in the latter category, and Hemenway had a career-high 20 points. Also noteworthy, Hill keyed Wittenberg’s second-half comeback, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 13 of his 18 points.

The Scots have final exams this week, so they won’t play again until Saturday night when they host NAIA power Cedarville University (9-1) at 8 p.m.