Wooster Not in NCAC Tourney Title Game for First Time Since '96

Bryan Wickliffe

WOOSTER, Ohio — The College of 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 Friday night at Timken Gymnasium, preventing the top-seeded Fighting Scots from making their 12th consecutive appearance in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.

Instead, Wabash (18-9), the No. 5 seed, will take on second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University (19-7), which knocked out Allegheny College 79-63 in Friday’s other NCAC semifinal match-up.

In addition to the end of its streak of NCAC Tournament finals’ appearances (1997-2007), it marked Wooster’s first home loss in 21 games and the 24-point differential was its largest margin of defeat since falling 82-53 to eventual national champion Calvin College in the 2000 NCAA Div. III Tournament. Also, it was the Scots’ worst home loss since Jan. 14, 1987, when Ohio Wesleyan blitzed Wooster 110-77.

The Little Giants took control right from the outset. They built a 15-6 lead just over four minutes in, and after the Scots closed within 17-12, added a 9-1 run for a double-digit cushion (26-13). Wooster got it back to a nine-point margin a couple of times (27-18, 29-20) before Wabash answered with a 7-0 stretch for a 16-point advantage (36-20).

The Scots did appear to close the first half with some momentum, chipping a 40-25 score down to 10 (43-33), however, Aaron Brock connected on a 3-pointer right before the halftime buzzer, which made it 46-33. Brock, who entered the game averaging 10.1 points, had 20 in the half.

Wooster, behind James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) and Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep), opened the second with a flurry. Cooper and Wickliffe 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 in a row while keeping the Scots off the scoreboard, resulting in a 20-point advantage (66-46).

Wooster could get no closer than 15 (68-53) the rest of the way.

Statistically, Wabash made more than 50 percent of its field goals (.538; 28-of-52), including 8-of-16 3-pointers, and was at 82.1 percent from the foul line (23-of-28). The Scots finished under 40 percent from the field for just the second time this season (.389; 21-of-54) and hit just 4-of-14 3-pointers (.286).

Brock ended up with a game-high 29 points on 8-of-11 field goals (4-of-5 3-pointers) and 9-of-9 free throws, while Wesley Smith and Andrew Zimmer chipped in 12 apiece for the Little Giants.

Cooper, Wickliffe, and Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) each tallied 14 points in the loss, and Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) was a bright spot with a season-high 12 points.

Ohio Wesleyan started out slow, trailing 14-10 just past the midway point of the opening half, but then proceeded to dominate much of the rest of its game with Allegheny. The Battling Bishops outscored the Gators 25-8 to take a 13-point lead (35-22) and went into halftime up 39-29.

A 9-0 spurt midway through the second half allowed Ohio Wesleyan to extend its 48-40 lead to 17 (57-40) and the Bishops cruised to the 16-point victory from there.

Ohio Wesleyan’s Kyle Holliday led all scorers in that one with 23 points and the Bishops received a nice lift off the bench from Kyle Miller, who had 17 points and five steals.

Allegheny, which sees its season end at 12-15, was paced by George Raftis’ 17 in the scoring column.

The NCAC Tournament championship game between Ohio Wesleyan and Wabash will be played at Wooster Saturday, with opening tip set for 7 p.m. The winner will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III Tournament, while the Scots will hope their 23-4 overall record is enough for an at-large berth in the national field.