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Wittenberg 70, Ohio Wesleyan 68 (1/16/2002)

Junior guard Aaron Levering (Cardington) scored 7 points in a span of 35 seconds, but an unbelievable comeback came up just short and Wittenberg held on to nip Ohio Wesleyan in North Coast Athletic Conference play on Wednesday in Springfield.

Trailing, 66-53, with 2:39 left in regulation time, the Bishops got a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Shawn Kindred (Delaware/Hayes) before freshman forward Brandon Cole (Sidney) came up with a steal and Levering hit a jumper to cut the margin to 66-57 with 2:19 to play.

Greg Rustad hit a pair of free throws for Wittenberg, but Levering buried a 3-pointer to cut the margin to 68-60 with 1:45 to play, then added a pair of free throws on a foul after the shot.

Kindred then stole the ball from Peter Walker and was fouled, and the Bishop point guard sank both shots to pull Ohio Wesleyan within 68-64 with 1:36 remaining.

On Wittenberg's next possession, Cole cleared a defensive rebound and was fouled. He made the first shot and missed the second, but the Bishops appeared to be in good shape when Kindred snagged the offensive rebound. But Kindred was called for a charge shortly thereafter, giving the ball back to the Tigers.

Peter Walker sank a pair of free throws for Wittenberg to raise the lead to 70-65 with :53 remaining, but junior guard Jason Dopoulos (Strongsville) drilled a 3-pointer to bring the Bishops within 2 points with :43 to play.

Forced to foul, the Bishops sent Mark Borland to the line 6 seconds later, but it came at the cost of Kindred's fifth personal foul. Borland missed both free throws, but Walker cleared the offensive rebound and it appeared that Wittenberg would be able to weather the storm.

Not so fast. Dopoulos stole the ball back and Ohio Wesleyan called time out with :30 to play. The Bishops worked the clock down to set up a shot, but Kevin Longley stripped Cole of the ball in the closing seconds to seal the win.

Ohio Wesleyan had led through most of the first half. Wittenberg had rallied to take a 13-10 lead at the 13:48 mark only to see the Bishops come back on the strength of 7 points by Dopoulos and 5 by Levering to take a 22-13 lead with 10:16 remaining. The Bishops still led, 34-29, at halftime thanks to a Cole 3-pointer in the final minute of the half.

Wittenberg opened the second half with an 8-0 burst as Borland had 2 baskets and 2 steals. The Tigers did not trail again after that, although the Bishops tied the game twice and closed to within 2 points on a basket by freshman forward Seth Rhea (Delaware/Hayes) with 9:23 remaining. But Wittenberg outscored Ohio Wesleyan, 11-3, after that point to open up a 10-point lead and had built the margin to 13 points before the frantic final minutes.

Levering led the Bishops with a career-high 15 points, while Kindred and Dopoulos finished with 14 points apiece. Cole grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds and shared the team lead with 3 assists.

Borland led the Tigers with 14 points, Greg Rustad had 11 points and Peter Walker scored 10 points for Wittenberg.