Otterbein 65, Ohio Wesleyan 64

Dec. 28, 2003

Tony Borghese hit a pair of free throws with :17 left in regulation time to cap a game-ending 11-2 run that lifted Otterbein over Ohio Wesleyan in the championship game of the Otterbein "O" Club Classic on Sunday night in Westerville.

Maryville (Tenn.) defeated Westminster (Pa.), 90-55, in the consolation game.

Ohio Wesleyan had led, 62-54, after on a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Ross Rybarczyk (Oberlin/Elyria Catholic) with exactly 3:00 left in regulation time.

Otterbein reeled off the next 5 points, with Borghese scoring twice and Aaron Minister adding a free throw, as the Cardinals closed to within 62-59 with less than 2 minutes remaining.

Freshman wing Ted Uritus (Columbus/Watterson) hit a lay-in to end the Otterbein run and give Ohio Wesleyan a 64-59 lead with 1:40 left, but the Cardinals got another basket from Borghese, to make it 64-61. Borghese drew a charging call on Rybarczyk with 1:18 left, giving Otterbein the ball with a chance to tie the game.

On Otterbein's ensuing possession, Borghese had an open look at a 3-pointer, but passed up the shot and fired a pass to Minister, who was flashing toward the basket. The pass went off Minister's hands, but Minister went over the end line and saved the ball back into the lane to Scott Hadley, who caught the ball and went up for a lay-in to bring the Cardinals within 64-63 with 1:01 remaining.

With the shot clock running down on the Bishops' next possession, junior guard Tyler Reed (Marysville/Fairbanks) turned the ball over. Borghese drew a foul and sank both free throws to give Otterbein the lead with :17 remaining.

Ohio Wesleyan called time out at midcourt with :15 left, and inbounded to Rybarczyk, who got the ball to sophomore wing Andy Warnock (Delaware/Hayes) on the left wing outside the 3-point arc, but Warnock was swarmed by the Cardinal defense and his shot at the buzzer was blocked by Minister.

Otterbein opened the game with an 8-0 run, helped by a pair of Borghese 3-pointers, and extended the lead to 13-2.

The Bishops chipped away at the lead during the remainder of the half and took a 33-31 halftime lead on Warnock's 3-pointer with :41 left in the first period.

Ohio Wesleyan built a pair of 8-point leads during the second half, the latter on Rybarczyk's free throws that set up the final 3 minutes of action.

Schwab led the Bishops with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Rybarczyk finished with 13 points and a team-high 4 assists. Freshman post Ben Chojnacki (Medina) contributed 10 points.

Borghese led all players with 22 points and Minister added 14 points for Otterbein.

Schwab and Rybarczyk represented Ohio Wesleyan on the all-tournament team.

Borghese was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. He was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Minister and Hadley and Maryville's Paul Reed.

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