Wittenberg-Wooster Title Game Not So Certain This Year

Tom Port is second on the Scots' in scoring (15.7 ppg).

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(all three games)

» Semifinal Game 1: Wittenberg 64, Ohio Wesleyan 46
» Semifinal Game 2: Wooster 84, Earlham 74
» Championship Game: Wittenberg 71, Wooster 69

Some years, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster will meet in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship game, as they have eight times since Wittenberg joined the league in 1989-90. This is certainly not one of those years.

While Wooster and Wittenberg are seeded No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, both were upset by fellow NCAC teams during the final week of the regular season. One of those two, Ohio Wesleyan University, is here at Timken Gymnasium, while the fourth semifinalist, Earlham College, also has demonstrated the capacity to pull out a surprise or two. Ohio Wesleyan knocked the Fighting Scots off their perch as NCAA Div. III’s No. 1 ranked team by a count of 86-83 in the regular season finale, and earlier this year, Earlham extended Wooster to overtime before falling 83-81 on a last-second shot. Also of note, Wabash College, which Earlham defeated 78-69 in the quarters, upended then-fourth-ranked Wittenberg 51-46 less than 10 days ago (Feb. 15).

So, it appears that this year’s NCAC tourney is as wide open as it has ever been, with all four teams having a legitimate chance to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament once all is said and done this weekend. The semifinal match-ups are Ohio Wesleyan-Wittenberg, starting at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by Earlham-Wooster at approximately 7:45 p.m., while the championship game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip Saturday.

Here’s a closer look at each semifinal team:

Earlham has reached the NCAC Tournament semis for the second consecutive year as the No. 5 seed. The Quakers, under seventh-year coach Jeff Justus, have built some momentum of late, winning four of their last six, with the only two losses during that stretch both coming in overtime. During their current three-game winning streak, the top-three scorers on the team — Brandon Miller, LaRon Henry, and Markous Jewett have each taken a turn leading the way in the scoring column. Jewett was high man in the quarterfinals with  23 points at Wabash, while Miller posted a stat line of 12 points, 11 boards, three assists, three blocked shots, and three steals. That is a good example of Miller’s season, as he leads Earlham in all five major categories —scoring (16.3 ppg), rebounding (8.8 rpg), assists (68), blocks (27), and steals (58). He appears well on his way to All-NCAC accolades, as does Henry, who’s been pumping in a career-high 16.0 points per game and connecting on nearly 50 percent of his 3-pointers (.479).

Ohio Wesleyan is one of the hottest teams in Div. III with eight wins in its last nine contests, highlighted by the aforementioned one against Wooster and a 106-67 thrashing of Allegheny College on Tuesday. The third-seeded Battling Bishops connected on an NCAC Tournament-record 17 3-pointers against Allegheny. Outside shooting has been a staple of Mike DeWitt coached squads, and this year is no exception as they’re averaging about 25 3-point attempts per game (24.5). After scoring a career-high 27 Saturday, Andy Warnock led the way with 18 points in the victory over the Gators, boosting his scoring average to 11.4, second on the team to Ben Chojnacki (13.1 ppg). Chojnacki is also Ohio Wesleyan’s leader on the glass (6.0 rpg) and in blocked shots (45). While Chojnacki and Warnock are the Bishops’ go-to players, they have five others averaging 6.0-plus points, which doesn’t even include senior point guard Ross Rybarczyk. 

Wittenberg, the defending NCAC Tournament champions, at one point this season was ranked No. 1. The Tigers currently sit sixth in the D3hoops.com national poll, having suffered just three losses, all to conference opponents. Bill Brown, who could win his 300th game at Wittenberg this weekend, has one of the most formidable frontlines in Div. III to work with. Dan Russ, who led the way with 27 points during Tuesday’s 81-63 win over Denison University, stands at 6’9” and is accompanied by 6’8” Dane Borchers and 6’5” Kenny Brady. They score 15.2, 12.8, and 10.9 points per outing, respectively. Russ also paces the team with 47 blocked shots and ranks second in rebounding (5.8 rpg) to Borchers’ 7.2 average. The key for the Tigers will likely be their production from the backcourt, which includes Gregg Hill, who tossed in a career-high 16 points in the Denison game.

Wooster, seeking its 10th consecutive finals appearance in the NCAC tourney, put together a 23-2 regular season. The Scots, currently No. 3 in the national rankings, started their postseason strong, using a 39-2 run, which included 29 unanswered points, to send eighth-seeded Kenyon College packing 96-44. Wooster’s balanced attack had five players reach double figures in that one, a common theme not only this season but for most Steve Moore coached teams. The 500-game winner’s 2005-06 squad is leading Div. III in 3-point percentage (.446), with four different players already having knocked down 40 or more — James Cooper (51), Devin Fulk (51), Tom Port (49), and Kyle Witucky (48). Cooper leads the league at 19.4 points, but the Scots also can score in the post with the likes of Port and Tim Vandervaart, who does a little bit of everything for Wooster. Vandervaart’s averaging 14.7 points and is the team’s leader in rebounding (8.7 rpg), blocks (37), and tied for the steals lead (45) with Brandon Johnson.