Ohio Wesleyan 61, Wabash 55

Jan. 11, 2006

Senior wing Andy Warnock (Delaware/Hayes) hit a pair of free throws to put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay and the Bishop defense blanked Wabash during the final 2 minutes of regulation time as Ohio Wesleyan defeated the Little Giants in a battle of North Coast Athletic Conference unbeatens on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Wabash's Caleb Lyttle had tied the game at 48-48 with 6:11 left in regulation time, the contest's ninth deadlock, before Warnock sank a pair of free throws for a 50-48 Bishop lead with 5:30 to go.

Sophomore post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) followed with a fast break lay-in for a 52-48 Bishop lead, and after Lyttle and senior guard Ross Rybarczyk (Oberlin/Elyria Catholic) traded buckets, Ohio Wesleyan held a 54-50 lead with 3:27 remaining.

Kyle Medeiros brought Wabash within 54-53 with a 3-pointer with 2:50 to play, but Rybarczyk answered in kind on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, restoring the 4-point margin with 2:18 to play.

Medeiros scored to make it a 57-55 game with 2:08 remaining, and it appeared that momentum was swinging Wabash's way when Andrew Zimmer got a hand on a 3-point attempt by senior wing Bryan King (Sidney) and Wabash gained possession on the end line.

King came back to steal the ball from Medeiros, and after a turnover by sophomore post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs), King came up with another steal, giving the Bishops the ball back with :39 left in regulation time.

Rybarczyk hit a pair of free throws with :25 left for a 59-55 Ohio Wesleyan lead, and after a pair of Wabash misses and defensive rebounds by Rudegeair, Warnock iced the game with a pair of free throws with :01 on the clock.

Ohio Wesleyan had taken an early 7-2 lead, thanks in part to Rybarczyk's game-opening 3-pointer, and went on to a 14-8 edge only to see the Little Giants come back with 8 straight points for a 16-14 advantage. With Wabash trailing, 26-25, the Little Giants scored the last 7 points of the half, getting a basket and a free throw by Adonis Joseph, to take a 32-26 lead into the locker room.

Wabash still led, 37-31, less than 5 minutes into the second half before long-range bombs by King and sophomore post Ryan Rozak (Fairview Park/Fairview) tied the game at 37-37 with 13:49 remaining, and a 3-pointer by King gave the Bishops a 40-37 lead.

The Little Giants came back for a 43-42 lead on Lyttle's free throw with 10:22 left, but Ohio Wesleyan came back with baskets by junior post Ben Chojnacki (Medina) and freshman guard Tim Patten (Mechanicsburg) to take a 46-43 lead with 8:56 remaining. The Bishops would not trail again, but the margin would not be larger than 4 points until Warnock's free throws in the final second.

Warnock led the Bishops with 12 points, going 8-for-8 from the line. Rybarczyk added 10 points and led Ohio Wesleyan with 7 assists, while Rudegeair grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds.

Medeiros led Wabash with 16 points and Lyttle added 11 points and a team-high 4 assists. Ryan Stephens led the Little Giants with 7 rebounds.

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