Ohio Wesleyan 82, Centre 65

March 8, 2008

Junior wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) converted a 3-point play that put the Bishops ahead to stay, then hit a pair of 3-pointers during a crucial 10-0 second-half run that helped Ohio Wesleyan defeat fourth-ranked Centre in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament on Saturday at Alumni Gymasium on the campus of Centre College in Danville, Ky.

Ohio Wesleyan advances to the sectional semifinals, or "Sweet 16," of the Division III tournament to face top-ranked Hope (Mich.), a 92-72 winner over Capital on Saturday.

Hope will host sectional action on Friday and Saturday in Holland, Mich. The sectional starts off with a semifinal game matching Wheaton (Ill.) against Whitworth (Wash.), with the Ohio Wesleyan-Hope tilt to follow. Friday's semifinal winners will play on Saturday, also at Hope. Game times will be announced on Monday.

Centre had raced to a 10-0 lead 3 minutes into the game, getting a pair of 3-pointers and a lay-in from Danny Noll and a lay-in by T.C. Thomason.

Ohio Wesleyan answered with 7 straight points, with senior post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) and senior post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs) putting the Bishops on the scoreboard with jumpers from the lane before senior wing Brian Cafarella (Westerville/North) knocked down a 3-pointer to bring the Bishops within 10-7.

The Bishops were within a single marker on several occasions before another Cafarella 3-pointer gave Ohio Wesleyan its first lead of the night at 24-22 with 7:50 left in the first half.

Buckets by Noll and Thomas Britt gave Centre a 26-24 lead, but that would be the Colonels' last of the game.

Jean tied the game at 26-26 with a jumper from the lane, then Holliday converted a 3-point play that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay. After Holliday cleared a defensive rebound, Jean followed with another jumper that gave the Bishops a 31-26 lead with 4:06 left in the first half.

The Colonels closed to within 1 point several times, but Ohio Wesleyan had an answer each time.

After Matt Nestheide had brought Centre within 47-46 with 15:48 left in regulation time, the Bishops made their move, with Jean sinking back-to-back jumpers from the lane and Holliday knifing in for a lay-in that put Ohio Wesleyan in front, 53-46, with just under 12 minutes to play.

Lay-ins by sophomore post Brent Pleiman (Russia) and Holliday later extended the Bishop lead into double digits at 62-52 with 8:46 to go. Centre fought back, with Thomason and Britt hitting consecutive 3-pointers to slice the deficit to 62-58, and when Noll hit the second of 2 free throws, it was a 62-59 game with 6:07 remaining.

Jean kicked off the Bishops' clinching run with a jumper from the lane. Holliday followed with his back-to-back 3-pointers, then Jean finished off the spurt with a jumper for a 72-59 lead with 3:39 remaining, and the margin would remain in double figures for the remainder of the contest.

Holliday led the Bishops with 24 points, going 8-for-11 from the field. Cafarella and Rudegeair finished with 17 points each and Jean added 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Rudegeair led the Bishops with 8 rebounds and junior wing Kyle Miller (Delaware/Hayes) had a team-high 4 assists.

Britt and Noll scored 15 points apiece for Centre, while Thomason and Nestheide had 10 points each.

Box Score