Aquinas 80, Ohio Wesleyan 79

Dec. 28, 2006

Senior post Ben Chojnacki (Medina) and junior post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs) drilled 3-pointers during the closing seconds of overtime as Ohio Wesleyan sliced a 7-point deficit to a single marker, but Aquinas held on to escape with a win in the first round of the Ashland University Holiday Inn Express Tournament on Thursday in Ashland.

Ohio Wesleyan will face the loser of Thursday's game between Ashland and Notre Dame (Ohio) in the tournament's consolation game at 6 p.m. on Friday.

After sending the game into overtime on John Lierman's 3-pointer with :01 left in regulation, the Saints opened the extra session with a 3-pointer by Jeff Jayson. Aquinas eventually padded its lead to 76-69 on a lay-in by Jeff Wierzbicki with :52 remaining in overtime.

The Bishops came back with a pair of Chojnacki free throws with :42 left, then sophomore wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) stole the ball and fed senior wing Ted Uritus (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) for a basket that brought Ohio Wesleyan within 76-73 with :34 remaining.

Forced to trade 2 free throws for a possession, the Bishops fouled Aquinas' Jordan Torres, who hit both free throws, but Ohio Wesleyan closed the gap when Chojnacki drilled a 3-pointer with :20 to go. That scene repeated itself when Torres hit 2 more free throws, but Rudegeair buried a 3-pointer to pull Ohio Wesleyan within 80-79 with :05 remaining.

The Bishops fouled once more, this time sending Lierman to the line with :03 to play. Lierman missed both free throws and Chojnacki cleared the rebound, giving the Bishops a chance at a game-winning shot, but Holliday's 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.

Aquinas held the biggest lead of the first half, taking a 19-13 lead on Jayson's jumper with 8:56 to go, but the Bishops came back to take a 21-20 lead on a dunk by junior post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) with 5:03 left.

The Bishops tied the game at 33-33 on a pair of Rudegeair free throws early in the second half, but the Saints answered with 10 straight points, getting a 3-point play and a lay-in from Lierman and a 3-pointer by Jayson. The Saints extended the lead to 12 points on 3 occasions, the last at 51-39 on Matt McDonald's 3-pointer with 11:57 left in regulation time. The Saints still led, 57-47, with 7:48 to go.

Junior guard Casey Teeters (Westerville/Columbus St. Charles) and Rudegeair fueled a Bishop comeback, with Teeters hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Rudegeair sinking a 3-pointer and 4 free throws to help Ohio Wesleyan take a 68-65 lead with :06 left in regulation time, setting up the Saints' last-second shot.

Rudegeair led the Bishops with 22 points and Teeters finished with 10 points. Rudegeair, Chojnacki and senior wing Matt Shirer (Medina) shared the team lead with 5 rebounds apiece and Teeters and Uritus had 3 assists apiece.

Jayson led the Saints with 23 points. Wierzbicki and Pedja Lazic scored 13 points apiece, with Wierzbicki also grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds, and Torres and Lierman added 11 points and 5 assists apiece.

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