WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster came back from a nine-point deficit (56-47) with 6:30 to play, limiting Allegheny College to just one point the rest of the way, as the top-seeded Fighting Scots pulled out a 62-57 victory Tuesday night to avert an upset at the hands of the No. 8 seed in the quarterfinal round of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.
Next, Wooster (24-2) will host the semifinals and championship game this Friday and Saturday evenings. Friday's first semi will pit the No. 2 and 3 seeds, Wittenberg University (18-7) and Wabash College (20-5), respectively, against each other at 6 p.m., followed by fourth-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University (16-10) and the Scots.
Down by nine twice within Tuesday's final eight minutes, it appeared Wooster would be knocked out of the first round of the NCAC Tournament for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Instead, the Scots toughed it out defensively while scoring 15 points, several on second-chance opportunities, the final 6:19 to advance.
Bryan Wickliffe started the comeback by getting an offensive rebound and putting it back up and in while being fouled. He finished the three-point play to pull Wooster within two possessions (56-50) at the 6:19 mark. Another offensive rebound helped the Scots get another point, as with the shot clock running down, Ian Franks was fouled and made one of the ensuing free throws to make it 56-51 with 5:22 left.
After a second-straight defensive stop, Wooster took advantage of another second chance. A Scots' 3-pointer was off the mark and there was a scramble for the rebound on the floor, with Allegheny's Donte Briscoe coming up with it, however, he traveled to keep the ball on that end. A few seconds later, Wickliffe hit a fadeaway jumper in the paint to trim the deficit to three (56-53).
On the ensuing possession, the Gators would go up four as James Ness split a pair from the foul line, putting the score at 57-53 with 3:36 remaining.
Wickliffe then fed an open Ian Franks in the left corner and the latter made one of his two 3-pointers of the night, pulling the hosts within a single point (57-56), and the next trip down, Nathan Balch connected on a pull-up jumper from the left side for the Scots' first lead (58-57) since the 12-minute mark of the second half.
The Gators proceeded to have three possessions to retake the lead, including a good look at a 3-pointer that rimmed out, but were unable to do so.
With the clock winding down under 30 seconds, Wooster went to Wickliffe on the inside again and he got another bucket to fall for a three-point cushion (60-57) with 15.5 ticks left.
Allegheny proceeded to attempt a tying 3-pointer, however, it was off target and Balch rebounded the miss, was fouled, and sealed the outcome with two free throws.
The game had dramatic shifts in momentum. First, the Scots opened up a 26-9 lead over the opening 14 minutes. Then, the Gators closed the half strong, stringing together a 21-7 stretch, which included six Wooster turnovers, as it was 33-30 at halftime.
The Scots stayed in front in the second until Allegheny put together another significant run, this time 17-2 as it took its first of two nine-point leads at 54-45.
Statistically, one of the few differences in the game was free throw percentage, as the Scots converted 9-of-12 (.750) and the Gators struggled at 6-of-14 (.429).
Wickliffe paced Wooster with 15 points, while Franks tallied 13 and Balch 10. Justin Hallowell controlled a team-leading nine rebounds and Matt Fegan distributed a game-high six assists.
Devone McLeod keyed that 17-2 second-half run for Allegheny and wound up with a game-high 21 points, including 5-of-11 3-point shooting.