Ohio Wesleyan 70, Wittenberg 67

Jan. 23, 2008

Senior guard Casey Teeters (Westerville/Columbus St. Charles) hit a key 3-pointer, senior post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs) scored what proved to be the game-winning bucket, and senior wing Brian Cafarella (Westerville/North) added a pair of insurance free throws as Ohio Wesleyan finished the game with a 7-0 run and edged Wittenberg for a North Coast Athletic Conference win on Wednesday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Wittenberg had taken a 67-63 lead on Mark Snyder's lay-in with 1:19 left in regulation time.

Ohio Wesleyan answered on its next possession, with senior post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) kicking the ball out to an open Teeters, who knocked down the shot to make it 67-66 with :59 remaining.

The Tigers worked the clock looking for a good shot, but Kevin Murray misfired on a 3-pointer and Teeters cleared the rebound, and the Bishops called timeout at midcourt with :21 to go.

Rudegeair then laid the ball in from the left side, putting Ohio Wesleyan ahead, 68-67, with :08 on the clock.

Wittenberg's Gregg Hill was called for a charge with :04 remaining, giving the ball back to the Bishops, and Cafarella was fouled with :02.7 to go. He hit both free throws to extend the Ohio Wesleyan lead to 70-67, and Murray's game-tying 3-point attempt from halfcourt at the buzzer was short of the goal.

Hill had broken a 6-6 tie with a jumper and a 3-pointer to give Wittenberg an 11-6 lead, and the Tigers would hold a 5-point margin on several occasions. Wittenberg still led, 26-21, on a 3-pointer by Brandan Barabino with 9:00 left in the first half before Ohio Wesleyan rallied with a 9-2 run that featured 3-pointers by junior wing Kyle Miller (Delaware/Hayes) and Cafarella as well as a free throw and a lay-in by Jean that gave the Bishops a 30-28 lead with 3:56 remaining.

The Tigers scored the game's next 7 points on a Snyder lay-in, a Barabino 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Jeromy Romero for a 35-30 lead, and Wittenberg would take that 5-point margin into the locker room when Derrick Hannon put back a missed 3-pointer, beating the first-half buzzer by an eyelash.

Ohio Wesleyan reeled off the first 5 points of the second half, tying the game on a Jean lay-in and a 3-pointer by junior wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert), but the Bishops could not recapture the lead and Wittenberg built an 8-point cushion as Hill converted a 3-point play, then hit a lay-in to make it 63-55 with 5:38 to play.

Teeters brought the Bishops back, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to go along with a jumper by Holliday, as Ohio Wesleyan tied the game at 63-63 at the 3:22 mark.

Wittenberg re-took the lead with a pair of Hannon free throws before Snyder's lay-in gave the Tigers their 67-63 advantage.

Jean led the Bishops with 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Rudegeair added 13 points an dled the Bishops with 4 assists.

Barabino led the Tigers with 16 points. Hill added 14 points and Romero grabbed a team-high 5 rebounds.

Box Score