Earlham 87, Ohio Wesleyan 86

Jan. 14, 2006

Senior wing Andy Warnock (Delaware/Hayes) hit a free throw to give Ohio Wesleyan an 86-84 lead, but Earlham's Tyler Stewart hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Quakers over the Bishops in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan had taken an 85-81 lead on a bucket by junior guard Matt Shirer (Medina) with :52 left in the overtime session, but Neil Collins sank a 3-pointer to bring the Quakers within 85-84 with :32 to play.

Trailing by a point, the Quakers fouled Warnock with :09 to play. He hit the first free throw and missed the second, with Stewart grabbing the rebound. Collins drove the ball upcourt and into the lane, but his path to the basket was blocked. Collins kicked the ball out to Stewart on the right wing, and Stewart sidestepped a Bishop defender and got off a shot just before the buzzer to win the game.

After a nailbiting second half that featured 10 ties, both teams had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation time.

Warnock gave the Bishops a 75-73 lead with 1:13 to play, only to see the Quakers even the game at 75-75 on Markous Jewett's lay-in with :56 remaining.

Warnock misfired on a 3-pointer with :24 remaining, but the Bishops got a break when junior post Ben Chojnacki (Medina) chased down the offensive rebound, giving Ohio Wesleyan a chance to play for the last shot. The Bishops worked the clock, then senior guard Ross Rybarczyk (Oberlin/Elyria Catholic) saw an open path to the basket with about :07 remaining. The lane filled and Rybarczyk's kickout pass toward the top of the key was wild, with Earlham gaining possession with :05 left. The Quakers were unable to get off a shot, however, sending the game into overtime.

Jewett opened overtime with a 3-point play, but Warnock buried a 3-pointer to even the game at 78-78. Jewett and Shirer traded points to leave the score tied at 80, and Rybarczyk and Jewett traded free throws for an 81-81 tie before a pair of Rybarczyk free throws and Shirer's basket set up the frenzied final seconds.

Early on, Ohio Wesleyan got 3-pointers by Warnock and freshman wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) to take a 15-8 lead, and still led by a margin of 27-20. Earlham closed to within a point as Tristian Gregory converted a 3-point play and then buried a 3-pointer.

The Bishops stretched the lead to 8 points late in the first half, with Warnock contributing a 3-pointer, a 3-point play by Warnock and a pair of free throws, and Ohio Wesleyan would take a 48-43 lead into the locker room.

Earlham opened the second half with a lay-in by Nick Welsh, a lay-in by LaRon Henry and a 3-point play by Brandon Miller that tied the game at 50-50.

The Quakers took their biggest lead of the game at 67-62 on Henry's jumper with 8:55 to go, but Ohio Wesleyan wiped out that deficit on a Warnock 3-pointer and a Shirer lay-in with 6:54 to play. Neither team would lead by more than 2 points during the remainder of regulation time.

Warnock led the Bishops with a career-high 25 points, going 5-for-7 from 3-point range. Chojnacki followed with 15 points, freshman guard Tim Patten (Mechanicsburg) scored 12 points, Shirer had 11 points and sophomore post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) added 10 points and led the Bishops with 6 rebounds. Senior wing Bryan King (Sidney), Rybarczyk, Shirer, Patten and Holliday shared the team lead with 2 assists apiece.

Brandon Miller led the Quakers with 28 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists. Miller went 16-for-21 from the line, setting Branch Rickey Arena records for free throws made and attempted. The old mark of 15 free throws made was set by Lee Rowlinson of Ohio Wesleyan against Wooster in 1988, and the old mark of 18 free throws attempted was set by Shawn Kindred of Ohio Wesleyan against Denison in 2001.

Jewett added 21 points and Henry finished with 19 points for the Quakers.

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