Third-Ranked Scots Survive Scare, Edge OWU in OT

Matt Schlingman

The College of Wooster, ranked No. 3 in D3hoops.com national poll, survived a major scare Saturday, needing a missed free throw by host Ohio Wesleyan University late in regulation to help send it into overtime and then scoring the final eight points of the extra session to overcome a deficit (66-67) and emerge as a  75-67 victor in its second North Coast Athletic Conference men’s basketball of the season.

Wooster (6-0, 2-0 NCAC) was staring at its first defeat to Ohio Wesleyan since 1995-96, when the Battling Bishops’ Ben Chojnacki earned a trip to the foul line with his squad down 62-61 and six seconds remaining in regulation. Chojnakci, who finished with a game-high 28 points, sunk the first free throw for the tie, however, the second went long and a desperation 3-point attempt by the Scots was off the mark.

Wooster, playing its first overtime game since a loss in the 2003 NCAA Div. III Tournament semifinals, took a 64-62 lead on an alley-oop dunk by Tom Port (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) from Kyle Witucky (Zanesville, Ohio / Zanesville). But, Ohio Wesleyan (3-4, 0-1 NCAC) tied it on its first possession and then Chojnacki buried a 3-pointer to give the Bishops a one-point lead (67-66) with just under three minutes left.

On the ensuing possession, Port answered with his third 3-pointer as the Scots retook the lead (69-67). After a defensive stop, Wooster’s next time down the court turned out to be its most important of the game, as a pair of offensive rebounds extended the possession and allowed Andy Van Horn (Loudonville, Ohio / Loudonville) to can a 3-pointer, giving the Scots a 72-67 lead at the 1:05 mark.

Wooster added a layup and a free throw for the final eight-point margin.

In the first half, the Scots jumped out to a 10-2 lead with five points coming from Matt Schlingman (Ashland, Ohio / Ashland). Schlingman, though, picked up his second foul moments later and was forced to sit for most of the opening 20 minutes.

Ohio Wesleyan caught fire from outside, hitting six of its last 11 3-point attempts of the opening half, which allowed the Bishops to build a lead as big as 11 on two different occasions. At 39-28, Wooster scored five unanswered points, including a 3-pointer by Port during the stanza’s final possession, to enter the break with some momentum.

Ohio Wesleyan maintained the lead for the first 16 minutes of the second half until back-to-back layups by Tim Vandervaart (North Canton, Ohio / Hoover) gave the Scots a 58-57 edge at the 1:58 mark. Chojnacki responded with a free throw to tie it, and on the other end, Vandervaart made two from the charity stripe to make it 60-58 in favor of Wooster.

Chojnacki hit a 3-pointer on the next possession to put the Bishops in front, and a Scot turnover gave the hosts a chance to make it a three- or four-point game with under a minute to play. However, a jumper was off the mark, and following a timeout, Blake Mealer (Wauseon, Ohio / Liberty Benton) found Schlingman open underneath, giving Wooster its final lead of regulation – 62-61 with :26 remaining.

Leading the Scots in the scoring column was Schlingman, who matched a career-high with 21 points on 9-of-11 field goals. Port, who spent more than 40 minutes on the floor (42) along with Witucky (43), posted a double-double of 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Vandervaart scored 10 points.

Joining Chojnacki in double figures for Ohio Wesleyan were Ross Rybarczyk and Ted Uritus with 10 tallies apiece.

The two major statistical differences in the game were rebounding, in which Wooster finished up with a 46-32 advantage, and turnovers, in which the Bishops only committed three to the Scots’ 10.

Wooster next attempts to keep its perfect record intact on Wednesday (Dec. 8) at Oberlin College (1-5, 0-1 NCAC). Opening tip in Oberlin, Ohio, will be at 7:30 p.m.