The 101st installment of the Wittenberg/Wooster men's basketball rivalry was another classic, decided in most improbable fashion when Tiger sophomore Zack Leahy rebounded a missed three-pointer and laid the ball in at the buzzer to give the visiting team a thrilling 56-55 victory.
The win pushed the Tigers, celebrating their 100th year of recorded men's basketball history, to 3-2 on the young season, including a 2-0 mark in the early going of the 2011-12 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title chase. Wooster, ranked fifth nationally after losing in the 2011 national championship game, dropped to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC. Wittenberg, which won for the third time in the last 10 trips to Wooster, now holds a 53-48 edge in the all-time series, with the 102nd meeting slated for Saturday, Feb. 11, on the Tigers' home floor.
Nearly half of the meetings between the two teams since Wittenberg joined the NCAC in 1989 have been decided by six points or less. Few, however, have been decided in such dramatic fashion as Leahy capped a second half that featured five ties and three lead changes.
The stage was set for Leahy's heroics over the final six minutes as Wooster freshman Xavier Brown scored his team's final six points, starting with a pair of game-tying jumpers at the 5:55 and 4:44 marks. However, he made just 2-of-4 free throw attempts in the final minute, opening the door just enough for the Tigers, who countered with a basket by senior Alex Brandt with 4:57 left, a free throw by senior Clayton Black with 34 seconds left and Leahy's game-winner at the final horn.
While the outcome was exciting, the action between the two teams was ragged at times as the defenses dominated. Wittenberg shot just 33 percent from the field, compared to 39 percent for Wooster. The Scots won the rebounding battle by a whopping 16, but Wooster committed 19 turnovers, compared to 10 by the Tigers.
Brown led both teams with 21 points, although he committed seven turnovers, including a key double dribble against full-court pressure with just 27 seconds remaining. He was the only Wooster player in double figures offensively.
Wittenberg put three players in double figures, led by Brandt with 14 off the bench. Senior Josh McKee, who launched the three-pointer that Leahy rebounded, added 13 points and five rebounds, while Black overcame 2-for-9 shooting from the floor to finish with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
Leahy turned in perhaps his best all-around game since transferring from the University of Toledo over the summer, finishing with four points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals against zero turnovers in 23 quality minutes off the bench.