Allegheny 85, Ohio Wesleyan 81

Feb. 22, 2003

Sophomore forward Brandon Cole (Sidney) buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 78-78 with 1:28 to play, but Ryan Meerstein answered with a 3-pointer with :57 left to break the tie and Allegheny held off Ohio Wesleyan to take a North Coast Athletic Conference win on Saturday in Meadville, Pa.

The win gave Allegheny the No. 3 seed in the upcoming NCAC tournament. Ohio Wesleyan finished in a fifth-place tie with Earlham. The Bishops won the No. 5 seed in a tiebreaker and will open the tournament on Tuesday at Wabash. NCAC tournament matchups.

After the Gators had taken an 81-78 lead, the Bishops went to junior center Travis Schwab (Medina), who scored inside to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 81-80 with :34 left in regulation time.

Ohio Wesleyan then fouled Allegheny's Billy Dungee, but Dungee hit both free throws to restore the 3-point margin.

The Bishops closed to within 83-81 when Cole hit the first of 2 free throws with :08 to play, and Ohio Wesleyan had a chance to tie the game when senior guard Jason Dopoulos (Strongsville) came up with the rebound of Cole's miss on the second free throw, but Dopoulos' game-tying jumper was off the mark and Allegheny cleared the rebound. Nick Catanzarite sank 2 free throws with :06 left to play to account for the 85-81 final.

Allegheny had jumped to an early lead, going ahead 9-2 and later stretching the margin to 21-9. The Gators still led, 24-13, on Meerstein's 3-point play with 9:50 left in the first half.

Ohio Wesleyan came right back with an 11-0 run that featured 5 points by freshman guard Ross Rybarczyk (Oberlin/Elyria Catholic) and 4 more by Schwab. Schwab's lay-in tied the game at 24-24 with 6:38 left in the first half.

The teams went back-and-forth for the next 5 minutes, but the Bishops struck for 3-pointers by Dopoulos and sophomore guard Tyler Reed (Marysville/Fairbanks) in the last 1:03 of the half to take a 41-34 halftime lead.

Allegheny rallied to tie the game at 46-46, but the Bishops bounced back to take a 60-55 lead on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Bryan King (Sidney) with 11:12 left in the game.

The Gators responded with an 11-0 run, with Catanzarite contributing 4 points and Meerstein a 3-pointer. Catanzarite's jumper capped the burst, giving Allegheny a 66-60 lead with 7:39 on the clock.

Ohio Wesleyan countered with a 9-0 spurt of its own, with Cole scoring 4 points, Dopoulos burying a 3-pointer and Schwab adding 2 free throws for a 69-66 advantage with 5:14 remaining.

The Bishops added to the lead, taking a 74-70 lead on a bucket by junior center Charlie Smith (Centerburg) with 3:18 left, but an 8-1 Gator run set up the final frenzied few minutes.

Schwab led the Bishops with 23 points. Cole followed with 14 points and team highs of 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Dopoulos finished with 11 points and Rybarcyk added 10 points.

Meerstein and Matt Magnusen led Allegheny with 20 points apiece. Catanzarite finished with 18 points and Tyrrell Smith added 14 points.

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