Scots Hold Off Second-Half Rally by Otterbein, Win 72-66

Tom Port elevates for a jump shot during the second half of the Scots' 72-66 win over Otterbein. Port was named the tournament's MVP.

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster went on a 12-4 run, beginning with a three-pointer from Blake Mealer (Wauseon, Ohio / Liberty Benton), after falling behind for the first time all game (54-55), and went on to secure a hard-fought 72-66 victory over Otterbein College to win the 10th annual Al Van Wie / Wooster Rotary Classic Saturday night in front of more than 1,000 fans at Timken Gymnasium.

The match-up featured two teams with a lot of national success over the last couple of seasons. Otterbein won the 2002 NCAA Div. III national championship, while Wooster is coming off of an appearance in the 2003 NCAA Div. III "Final Four."

At halftime, the Scots (2-0) appeared to be in firm control with a 38-26 lead. However, Otterbein (1-1) methodically fought back, trimming a 43-28 game down to a one-point margin (47-46). Mealer stopped that run with a three, followed by a Tom Port (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) lay-up to make it 52-46, but the Cardinals came back with nine of the game’s next 11 points to take their first lead.

Mealer canned two threes the next two minutes, sandwiched by a buzzer-beating (shot clock) runner in the lane by Kyle Witucky (Zanesville, Ohio / Zanesville), to give Wooster the lift it needed.

Ryan Snyder (Sebring, Ohio / Sebring McKinley) and Port combined to make 7-of-8 free throws over the final 2:48 to secure the Scots’ seventh Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic championship since the season-opening four-team tourney began in 1994.

In the first half, Wooster started out on fire, thanks to a 10-point burst from reserve Jeff Stevens (Pickerington, Ohio / Pickerington), and Otterbein missed its first 11 shots from the field, as the Scots built a 23-6 bulge by the midway point. The Cardinals cut it all the way down to five (28-23) only to see Wooster end the stanza with a 10-3 run, including three-pointers from Witucky and Snyder.

Rodney Mitchell fires a jump shot against Otterbein.

Overall, Port finished with 22 points and 10 boards to cop tournament Most Valuable Player honors, while Mealer made 7-of-10 field goals, including 3-of-5 outside the arc, during a 19-point, six-rebound night that place him on the all-tournament team.

The Scots’ other honoree was Rodney Mitchell (Elida, Ohio / Elida), who limited the Cardinals’ DeQuan Owens to three points on 1-of-13 shooting from the field and four turnovers after the freshman had gone for 25 points in Friday’s contest. Mitchell, who recorded five points, six boards, five assists, and three steals, was voted the tournament’s defensive MVP.

Aaron Minister led Otterbein with 16 points and eight rebounds, and was an all-tourney selection, as was Scott Hadley, who poured in 15 points in the title game.

In the consolation, the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) finished on a 13-4 run after facing one of its few deficits in the game (74-75) to beat the State University of New York at Brockport 87-79.

St. Thomas (1-1) was ahead 39-35 at halftime and maintained a four- to eight-point margin most of the way until a late rally by Brockport State (0-2).

The Tommies had three in double figures, paced by Nick Schader’s 16 markers. Schader was joined on the all-tournament team by the Golden Eagles’ Brandon Mills, who recorded a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds in the third-place game.

Wooster continues its early homestand next Saturday (Nov. 29), when it will host the inaugural North Coast Athletic Conference/Ohio Athletic Conference Challenge. Mt. Union College (2-0) and Ohio Wesleyan University (1-1) will meet in a neutral-site match-up at Timken Gymnasium, starting at 4 p.m., followed by the Scots and Capital University (2-0) at approximately 6 p.m.