Ohio Wesleyan 93, Allegheny 86

Jan. 18, 2003

Sophomore guard Bryan King (Sidney), junior center Charlie Smith (Centerburg) and junior center Travis Schwab (Medina) fueled the biggest comeback in Ohio Wesleyan history, then King hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime and Smith and Schwab followed with crucial plays as the Bishops defeated Allegheny in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Both teams started slowly, with nobody scoring until Allegheny's Billy Dungee drove the lane with 17:55 left in the first half. Ohio Wesleyan tied it at 2-2 on a jumper by sophomore forward Brandon Cole (Sidney) on its next possession.

From there, Allegheny outscored Ohio Wesleyan 27-2 over the next 8-plus minutes. Matt Magnusen hit a pair of 3-pointers for the Gators and scrappy guard Adam Straub scored on a fast break and a baseline drive to highlight the run, which ended on a 3-pointer by J.J. Wilson and a then a fast break by Ryan Meerstein that made the score 29-4, Allegheny, with 9:16 left in the first half.

Schwab came back with a 3-point play, but the Gators got a jumper from Tyrrell Smith and a Meerstein jumper to hike the lead to 26 points at 33-7 with 7:20 left in the first half.

Schwab started the Bishop comeback with a jumper and a pair of free throws, then Cole scored and freshman guard Ross Rybarczyk (Oberlin/Elyria Catholic) added 3 points before King drilled a 3-pointer to cap a 12-0 burst. King added another 3-pointer and Cole had a putback in the closing minutes of the half as Ohio Wesleyan trailed by a margin of 38-24 at halftime.

The teams exchanged a 2-pointer and a 3-pointer to open the second half, then Ohio Wesleyan put together an 11-0 run as Cole scored twice and Schwab hit 2 free throws, a lay-in and a 3-pointer to bring the Bishops within 43-40 with 14:56 to play.

After Meerstein's jumper made it 45-40, King drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to give Ohio Wesleyan its first lead of the game at 46-45 with 13:13 left.

Allegheny appeared to regroup and used a Wilson 3-pointer, a Meerstein fast break and a pair of Dungee free throws to break a 61-61 tie and take a 68-61 lead with 4:57 to go, before Ohio Wesleyan's Charlie Smith and Allegheny's Tyrrell Smith traded baskets to make it 70-63.

Schwab started yet another Bishop comeback with a 3-point play, and after a Dungee free throw, the Bishops got a pair of free throws by Rybarczyk and a putback by Charlie Smith before Cole hit the first of 2 free throws to tie the game at 71-71 with :49.9 to play. Cole missed the second free throw, but Schwab snared the rebound and Charlie Smith was fouled with :26.3 to play.

Smith hit both free throws to give the Bishops a 73-71 lead, but Dungee came right down and hit a floater from the lane to tie the score with :17.2 on the clock.

Ohio Wesleyan had a chance to take a game-winning shot, but Rybarczyk's pass into Schwab was picked off by Allegheny's Nick Catanzarite with about :07 to play. Catanzarite streaked up the right sideline but was trapped, and his pass across court found a Gator teammate who was not able to get off a shot before the buzzer.

King opened the overtime scoring with a 3-pointer, and after a Dungee free throw, Charlie Smith hit a pair of free throws and then a jumper from the lane, and Schwab followed with a 3-pointer to stake Ohio Wesleyan to an 83-74 lead with 1:40 left in overtime.

Allegheny chipped away, getting a bucket from Tyrrell Smith and 4 points by Meerstein to counter 4 Cole free throws, and when Dungee's jumper from the left wing got a shooter's bounce and went through the rim, Allegheny had closed to within 87-83 with :50.7 left and called timeout to set up the defense.

But the Gators did not have any time outs left and were charged with a technical foul, and Allegheny coach Rob Clune's reaction resulted in a second technical foul.

Schwab hit 3 of the 4 free throws and sophomore guard Tyler Reed (Marysville/Fairbanks) went 1-for-2 from the line on the ensuing possession, allowing the Bishops to withstand a 3-pointer by Catanzarite for the Gators' final points.

Schwab led the Bishops with 29 points and 14 rebounds, while Cole finished with 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. King finished with 15 points after going 5-for-5 from 3-point range, tying an Ohio Wesleyan record and setting a Branch Rickey Arena record for 3-point field goal percentage. Charlie Smith added 14 points, Reed contributed 11 points and Rybarczyk led the Bishops with 5 assists.

Catanzarite led Allegheny with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Meerstein finished with 16 points and shared the team lead with 6 rebounds, Dungee had 14 points, Matt Magnusen added 12 points and Tyrrell Smith scored 10 points. Wilson led the Gators with 5 assists.

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