Senior guard Andy Winters scored 12 of his career-high 29 points during the final 3 minutes, but eighth-ranked Wooster held on to defeat ninth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan in a North Coast Athletic Conference thriller on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

After 15 ties and 14 lead changes during the first 30 minutes of play, Wooster held a 69-67 lead after senior post Marshall Morris hit the second of 2 free throws with 4:19 left in regulation time.

Doug Thorpe answered with a 3-pointer for Wooster, then grabbed an offensive rebound and found Jake Mays for a lay-in that increased the Scot lead to 74-67, their biggest of the game.

Winters hit a pair of free throws with 2:27 left to bring the Bishops within 74-70, and after Wooster had increased its lead to 78-72, it was Winters burying a 3-pointer that brought the Bishops within 78-75 with 1:01 to play.

Jalen Goodwin then hit a crucial 3-pointer for Wooster, taking a pass from DeBoer in front of the Scot bench and launching a trifecta that restored the 6-point lead with :35 left.

Winters blazed the length of the court for a lay-in to make it a 4-point game, and the Bishops fouled Thorpe to get the ball back with :26 left, with Thorpe sinking both free throws for an 83-77 Wooster lead.

The strategy worked when senior wing Vaughn Spaulding  grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Winters, who knocked down a 3-pointer and was fouled with :15 to play, making it a one-possession game.  Winters misfired on the free throw and DeBoer was fouled on the rebound, and DeBoer sank both charity shots for an 85-80 Wooster lead.

Once again, Winters drove the length of the court and scored to make it a one-possession game, but Xavier Brown hit a pair of free throws with :09 left to restore the 5-point lead and seal the verdict.

Wooster had taken an early 6-0 lead on a Thorpe 3-point play and a DeBoer 3-pointer, but Ohio Wesleyan answered with the next 7 points of the game, taking the lead after a Morris lay-in, a 3-pointer by junior guard Taylor Rieger, and a Winters lay-in.

The Bishops put together a 6-0 run late in the half, breaking a 31-31 tie with a pair of Rieger free throws, a Winters lay-in, and a Morris jumper from the lane, only to see Wooster close the half with an 11-3 run that included a pair of Xavier Brown baskets and a 3-pointer from DeVaughn Wingard.

Baskets by Brown and Jake Mays helped Wooster put together a 9-2 run that produced a 53-46 lead early in the second half, but Ohio Wesleyan wiped that out by scoring the next 9 points, collecting a 3-point play and a lay-in from Winters, a jumper by junior post Reuel Rogers, and a Winters steal and lay-in that gave the Bishops a 55-53 lead with 13:07 to play.

Winters led the Bishops with a career-high 29 points and 5 assists.  Rieger finished with 17 points and Morris added 12 points.  Spaulding grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

Thorpe and Brown led Wooster with 20 points apiece.