WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster outscored Wittenberg University 27-9 the last nine minutes, as the No. 1 ranked Fighting Scots came back from an 11-point deficit to pull out a 65-58 victory in another classic match-up between the two archrivals, played in front of 3,000-plus fans at Timken Gymnasium Saturday night.
The first of two regular season games between the two traditional North Coast Athletic Conference powers separates them by one game in the loss column of the standings, as Wooster is now 9-0 in league play and Wittenberg slips to 7-1.
The Scots, who also extend their best start in school history to 18-0, found themselves down 49-38 just past the midway point of the second half in a low-scoring affair. Senior and four-year starter Bryan Wickliffe began the rally by first earning a trip to the free throw line, where he sunk both, the first of which gave him 1,000 career points. On Wooster's next possession, Wickliffe made a post move to get free for a lay-up and following another defensive stop, he drew a double team and dropped the ball to Justin Warnes for an open lay-in as the Scots were suddenly within five (49-44).
Both defenses dug in for the next couple of minutes before Wickliffe again made a key play, following a missed shot with a rebound and quick lay-up to make it 49-46.
The Tigers' Seth Hill stopped the eight-point run by canning a 3-pointer from the left wing, just his fourth make from outside the arc this season. Wooster would answer two possessions later via a trifecta from Nathan Balch, the senior's lone shot of the second half.
Hill stepped up again for Wittenberg, making a driving lay-up to put his squad back up by five (54-49) around the four-minute mark, but it was all Scots after that. Despite missing a couple of free throws on the ensuing series, Wooster scored each of the five possessions after that, starting with two Ian Franks' free throws and a deep Justin Hallowell 3-pointer off an in-bounds play that tied it up at 54 with just under 2:00 to go.
After a third successive defensive stop for the Scots, Franks got a step on his defender, converting a drive while being fouled for Wooster's first lead since early in the second half. He completed the three-point play to make it 57-54 at the 1:14 mark.
The Tigers then misfired on a 3-pointer and Franks found Hallowell for a transition lay-up, giving the Scots a two-possession lead (59-54) with 42.2 seconds left.
Wittenberg ended its three-minute scoreless drought when Hill got his own offensive rebound off a missed 3-pointer and laid it in, as the visitors pulled within three (59-56) at the 32.2 mark.
Forced to foul, the Tigers sent Hallowell to the line and he sunk both with 26.3 to go to push it back to a five-point margin. Next, Wittenberg had a chance to pull within two as a foul was called on a 3-point attempt by Steven Newell. He made the first two, but missed the third with Franks grabbing the rebound and being quickly fouled. Franks sunk both free throws with 16.0 left for another five-point cushion (63-58).
Wittenberg missed an off-balance 3-pointer and Balch got the rebound this time and was fouled. He made both from the charity stripe for the final margin.
Wooster fell behind 8-0 early on, but quickly evened it back up at 9-9, and for the rest of the first half, neither squad gained more than a four-point cushion. The Tigers led 27-26 at the break.
The lead traded sides the first six possessions of the second half, the last of which was part of a 15-3 Wittenberg run, featuring three Cameron Walton 3-pointers, as the Tigers constructed their first 11-point advantage at 46-35.
Both offenses struggled much of the night. The Scots used an 11-of-21 field-goal shooting performance the second 20 minutes to finish at 41.5 percent for the game (22-for-53), while Wittenberg was at .344 overall (21-for-61). The teams combined to make just 12-of-51 3-pointers (.235) and finished with 36 rebounds apiece.
Wooster put four in double figures, led by Franks' 17 points. He also had a team-high eight rebounds. Balch had 15 points, Hallowell 14, and Wickliffe 12, giving him 1,005 for his career and joining 34 other Scot greats to have hit that milestone number.
Walton's 14-point outburst off the bench paced Wittenberg, while Alex Brandt had a productive night in the post with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Next for Wooster is a trip to Kenyon College (8-10, 4-5 NCAC) on Wednesday night.