Ohio Wesleyan 79, Allegheny 63

Feb. 29, 2008

Junior wing Kyle Miller (Delaware/Hayes) hit 3-pointers that began and ended an 18-5 run that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay, then sparked a 9-0 second-half run that put the game out of reach as the Bishops defeated Allegheny in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinal matchup on Friday at Wooster.

Ohio Wesleyan advances to the tournament championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Wooster, where the Bishops will face Wabash, an upset winner over top-seeded Wooster in Friday's second semifinal contest. The NCAC tournament champion wins the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Both teams started out slowly offensively, with Allegheny taking a 12-10 lead at the midway point of the first half, and the Gators later evened the game at 17-17 on Craig Devinney's 3-pointer with 7:46 left in the period.

Miller swished a 3-pointer on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, and after an Allegheny miss, senior wing Brian Cafarella (Westerville/North) drained a 3-pointer for a 23-17 Bishop lead.

Allegheny got a free throw from Ben Torsney, and the Gators were still within 27-22 after a pair of Torsney free throws with 3:55 left in the half.

Ohio Wesleyan seized back the momentum by collecting a free throw from senior post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) and lay-ins by Miller and junior wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) to stretch the lead into double figures at 32-22, and after a Gator offensive foul, Miller put an exclamation point on the Bishop run by hitting a 3-pointer that made it 35-22 with 2:01 to play in the period.

The Gators closed to within 46-38 early in the second half on a George Raftis jumper from the lane and another pair of Torsney free throws, and after Holliday and Raftis traded points, Ohio Wesleyan held a 48-40 lead exactly 6 minutes into the second half.

Holliday followed with a lay-in for the Bishops, then Miller hit another 3-pointer and a pair of free throws before another Holliday lay-in put Ohio Wesleyan up 57-40 with 10:34 remaining, and Allegheny would come no closer than 13 points during the remainder of the game.

Holliday led the Bishops with 23 points, going 9-for-12 from the field. Miller added a season-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting and contributed 5 steals, 4 coming in the first half. Cafarella scored 10 points, senior post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs) led the Bishops with 8 rebounds, and Jean grabbed 7 boards and led the Bishops with 4 assists.

Raftis led the Gators with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Devinney finished with 13 points and Torsney added 10 points.

Box Score