Wittenberg Falls On Last-Second Shot At Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio — It was another instant classic. In Round 1 of the renewal of the Wittenberg/Wooster men's basketball rivalry, the Scots had the last word with a long three-pointer with 4.1 seconds left to claim a hard-fought 86-83 victory over Wittenberg.

The loss was third-ranked Wittenberg's first of the 2005-06 season after six straight wins to open the season, and it evened the Tigers' North Coast Athletic Conference record at 1-1. Wooster, ranked second in the nation, improved to 8-0 and 4-0 in the NCAC, in the process firing the first salvo in what has historically been an annual three-round slugfest. Wittenberg captured two of three, including a two-point win in the NCAC Tournament finals, during the 2004-05 season.

This one was as good as it gets. Wittenberg's game-opening 6-0 run was answered by Wooster's 6-0 run, but then the bigger Tigers reeled off 14 straight points to take what seemed like a commanding 20-6 advantage. It wasn't even halftime before the Scots, who came into the game averaging more than 100 points per game this season, had caught up to and even surpassed Wittenberg. Only a three-point field goal by Wittenberg junior wing Billy Bowen with 31 seconds remaining in the half gave the Tigers a razor-thin 41-40 lead at the intermission.

The second half featured 15 lead changes, the last of which came on a stunning 25-foot three-pointer by Wooster sophomore guard James Cooper, the last of his 21 points. That came after Wittenberg had forged the 11th and final tie with a short jump shot by senior post Daniel Russ with 21 seconds left. Russ, the 2005 NCAC Player of the Year, finished with a game-high 33 points, just four shy of his career-best of 37 accomplished during last year's triple overtime loss to Wooster in the Tigers' home gymnasium.

After Cooper's three-pointer hit nothing but net, the Tigers could only muster a three-point attempt by freshman point guard Gregg Hill that caromed off the backboard and rim at the buzzer. The Tigers had won the battle of the boards 37-28, shot better than 50 percent from the field in the game and drained 22-of-23 free throws in a magnificent performance. The 22-of-23 (95.7 percent) from the line was just short of the school record of 27-of-28 (96.4 percent), set in 2004 against Wooster.

But Wooster had the answers as the Scots committed just seven turnovers and hit eight more three-pointers in the game. Tom Port had 25 points, including five three-pointers, four rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead the Scots, while Cooper added 21 and Tim Vandervaart battled through foul trouble to add 10 points, five assists and five rebounds.

Wittenberg was led by Russ, who added seven rebounds and two blocked shots to his scoring total, and also picked up an outstanding performance from senior post Dane Borchers, who contributed his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to two blocks. Freshman wing Tyler Howard hit a pair of three-pointers in the first half en route to 10 points and four rebounds and senior wing Kenny Brady chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and two blocks. Borchers and Brady both dealt with foul concerns throughout the second half.