Wilmington 63, Ohio Wesleyan 60

Dec. 21, 2006

Junior post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs) hit a pair of free throws to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 63-60, but Wilmington forward Brandon Rogers blocked a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds, allowing the Quakers to escape with a non-conference win over Ohio Wesleyan on Thursday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan had taken a 56-54 lead on a lay-in by senior post Ben Chojnacki (Medina) with 3:14 left in regulation time, but the Quakers tied the game on Scott Walters' lay-in with 2:54 to play, then took the lead for good when Fred Harrison drilled a 3-pointer with 2:16 remaining.

The Bishops closed to within 59-58 on a pair of free throws by junior guard Casey Teeters (Westerville/Columbus St. Charles) with 1:59 left, but Harrison countered with a jumper at the 1:44 mark and Rogers hit a jumper for a 63-58 Quaker lead with 1:02 to play.

Rudegeair's free throws with :44 to go brought Ohio Wesleyan within 63-60. The Quakers worked the clock on their ensuing possession, but with the shot clock running down, Rogers misfired on a jumper, Chojnacki cleared the rebound and the Bishops streaked downcourt.

Chojnacki found senior wing Matt Shirer (Medina) perched behind the 3-point arc on the left wing, but Shirer's 3-point shot bounced off the rim and out of bounds to Wilmington with just under :03 to play.

After the teams combined to call 3 consecutive time-outs, the Quakers inbounded the ball, but Kerry Wilkinson stepped on the endline with :01.6 to go, giving the Bishops one more chance.

Senior wing Ted Uritus (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) got open and took the inbounds pass, but Rogers came out and got a hand on Uritus' 3-point try and Harrison chased down the rebound as the buzzer sounded.

Ohio Wesleyan had taken an early 12-6 lead, getting a bucket from Rudegeair and a 3-pointer by Chojacki, the latter with 14:00 left in the first half.

The Bishops still led, 14-9, on a basket by junior post Ryan Rozak (Fairview Park/Fairview) when Wilmington went on a 10-0 run, with Brandon Rogers scoring 6 points and David Diaby scoring 4 points. Rogers capped the run with a pair of free throws, giving the Quakers a 19-14 lead with 9:43 left in the half.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with a 16-0 run, holding Wilmington scoreless for over 5 minutes while Uritus hit 4 free throws and a lay-in and Chojnacki, junior post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) and junior wing Brian Cafarella (Westerville/North) each hit 2 free throws. Jean added a fast-break dunk and Rudegeair had a lay-in during the Bishop spree, which ended with Ohio Wesleyan holding a 30-19 lead with 4:35 left in the period.

Wilmington finished off the half with a 9-0 run, getting a pair of buckets from Rogers, a 3-pointer by Zach Broermann and a lay-in by Scott Walters to pull within 30-28 at the intermission.

Teeters and Rudegeair hit 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half, helping Ohio Wesleyan stretch its lead to 36-30, and a Rudegeair lay-in with 15:58 to play gave the Bishops a 42-35 lead.

The Quakers answered with a 12-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Kevin Colson baskets and a basket and a pair of free throws from Rogers, the latter giving Wilmington a 47-42 lead with 10:17 to play.

Ohio Wesleyan still trailed, 51-46, when Jean's lay-in and Teeters' 3-pointer evened the game at 51-51 with 6:04 left, and after the teams traded 3-pointers, Chojnacki's lay-in with 3:14 remaining gave the Bishops their final lead and set up the closing minutes.

Rudegeair led the Bishops with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Chojnacki added 12 points and Teeters led all players with 4 assists. The Bishops blocked 10 Quaker shots, with Shirer and Jean rejecting 3 apiece. The 10 blocks was the highest single-game total for Ohio Wesleyan since Feb. 17, 1993, when the Bishops blocked 10 Earlham shots.

Rogers led the Quakers with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Tyler Ledford had a team-high 3 assists for Wilmington.

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