Box Score

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Brandon Rash scored 22 points Tuesday and Barrett Meyer added 15 as Transylvania held off No. 13 Wooster in first-round action of the third annual Don Lane Classic at the Beck Center.
 
The Pioneers improve to 6-3 while the Scots drop their second game in nine decisions.
 
Transy led by as many as 10 points in a pulsating second half, only to see Wooster force a 62-62 tie with 1:49 to play. The Pioneers would hold the visitors without a point the rest of the way and win in thrilling fashion.
 
Meyer started the run with a three off a pass from Parker Stansberry. Meyer was good on two of four free throws to make it 67-62 with 15 seconds to go. Stansberry's free throw with four second to go set the final margin as Wooster misfired on its last five field goal attempts.
 
Rash surpassed his previous season scoring high of 21, which came most recently in a win at Bluffton. He also had nine rebounds, two blocks, and one assist. His putback with 2:45 to go gave Transy a 60-56 lead. He scored 14 points in the second half.
 
All-American Ethan Spurlin had 14 points and 11 boards as Transy shot 46 percent in the second half and 43 percent for the game. The Pioneers also outscored the visitors 21-10 from the free throw line.
 
Evan Pannell and Doug Thorpe paced Wooster with 13 points each and Thorpe added seven rebounds. Transy had a 36-33 edge on the boards. Wooster shot 38 percent in the second half, and was at 40 percent (21 of 49) for the game.
 
There were a total of three lead changes and the game was tied seven times.
 
Rash cashed in a pair of free throws with four-tenths of a second to play in the first half, giving the Pioneers a 33-31 advantage at intermission. Neither team led by more than six points in the first half.
 
Transy forged an early six point lead at 14-8 when Stansberry capped a 10-0 run with a layup off an assist from Spurlin.  Then it was Wooster's turn to rally, breaking a 26-26 tie with five points in a row for a 31-26 lead at the 3:29 mark.
 
Rash had eight points and five rebounds in the first half and Meyer, honored prior to the game for surpassing the 1,000-point plateau, added seven to go with three rebounds. Transy shot 41 percent from the field in the first half (11 of 27), nearly identical to the Scots' total of 41.4 percent (12 of 29). Thorpe and Pannell each scored six in the half for the visitors.
 
The Pioneers will play eighth-ranked Franklin & Marshall of the Centennial Conference in second round play in the Classic on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Transy plays its final game of 2012 on Saturday when it hosts intrastate rival Thomas More at 1 p.m. in the Beck Center.