Top-Seeded Scots Attempting to Repeat as NCAC Tourney Champs

James Cooper

Having secured its fourth consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference championship, The College of Wooster now will look to successfully defend its NCAC Tournament title, and thus, earn the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III Tournament. The Fighting Scots, ranked No. 11 in the final D3hoops.com regular season poll, enter this week’s eight-team NCAC tourney as the top seed and with home-court advantage. First, on Tuesday, Feb. 26, they’ll welcome eighth-seeded Oberlin College (5-20) to Timken Gymnasium for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. Oberlin came back from 14 points down in the second half to win its regular-season finale, 76-73, and clinch a postseason berth for the first time since the 2000-01 campaign. During the regular season, the two teams only met once and that was the NCAC opener way back on Dec. 5. Wooster prevailed in that one, utilizing a balanced effort of six double-digit scorers to secure a 94-54 win.

If the Scots can get past the Yeomen, then they will host the 2008 NCAC Tournament semifinals and finals Friday and Saturday, Feb. 29-March 1. Wooster’s semi would be against the winner of No. 4 seed Kenyon College (13-12) and fifth-seeded Wabash College (16-9) on Friday at 8 p.m., or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first semifinal, which is slated to begin at 6 p.m. The NCAC tourney’s championship game will take place Saturday, starting at 7 p.m.

NCAC Tourney Notes: Wooster has had a great deal of success in the NCAC Tournament, having captured 10 of the 23 previous titles, four more than any other school in the conference. The Scots, champions in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2007, are a league-best 44-13 all-time (.772) in NCAC tourney play.

Wooster was the host and No. 1 seed each of the last three years as well. In 2007, the Scots cruised through the NCAC Tournament, defeating Earlham College 94-76 in the quarters, Wabash 92-80 in the semifinals, and Ohio Wesleyan University 86-51 in the finals, which avenged two-point losses to arch-rival Wittenberg University in the finals the previous two seasons (71-69 in 2006 and 61-59 in 2005). As the top seed, Wooster has won the NCAC tourney five times (1995, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007).

Last Week: The Scots picked up two more victories, extending their win streak to 10 and finishing the regular season with a 22-3 overall mark. Also, they clinched the NCAC title outright via a 15-1 league record.

On Feb. 20, the senior backcourt duo of James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) and Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) scored eight-straight points after upstart Allegheny College had tied it 69-69, and Wooster went on to an 84-74 triumph in a closely-contested NCAC match-up at Timken Gymnasium. The Scots were ahead 42-36 at halftime, but had trouble putting away the conference’s sixth-place team. Allegheny gained the lead once during the second at 45-44, and then Wooster came out of a timeout re-energized, scoring nine unanswered points (53-45). The Gators would eventually even the score twice (67-67, 69-69) before Cooper and Fulk put together their personal run to finally secure the victory. Individually, freshman Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) scored a season-high 25 points, making 10-of-13 field goals. Fulk put up 19 points, Cooper had 13, and Brandon Johnson (Columbus, Ohio / Groveport Madison) added 10. Marty Bidwell (Middletown, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) registered a team-high eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Evan Will (Dublin, Ohio / Dublin Coffman) also contributed six assists and three steals.

On Feb. 23, Cooper broke the Scots’ career record for 3-pointers made and moved into second-place on the school’s all-time scoring list, while leading NCAC-champion Wooster to a 92-65 win in its regular season finale at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. The Scots outscored Earlham 18-1 to start the game, with Cooper accounting for 14 of those points. By the end of the first half, Wooster was up 44-31 and it quickly extended its advantage into the 20s during the second en route to the 27-point victory. Cooper ended up with 29 points, giving him 1,972 over his standout career, as he surpassed Scot legend Bryan Nelson (1,957 from 1999-2003) in becoming the No. 2 leading scorer in team history. Cooper’s effort included 4-of-6 3-point shooting, which elevates his career 3-pointers made to 234, passing up former teammate Tom Port (231 from 2003-07) for the top mark in that category. Also for Wooster, Will and Bidwell chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively, and Johnson posted game highs of seven rebounds and six assists.