Wooster 80, Ohio Wesleyan 77

Dec. 8, 2007

Senior post Jesse Jean (Alexandria, Va./Hyde (Conn.) School) scored with :44 left in regulation time to give the Bishops a 77-76 lead, but Wooster's Bryan Wickliffe scored on a putback with :18 remaining and Wooster escaped with a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

Ohio Wesleyan had trailed, 72-62, with exactly 5 minutes remaining in regulation time before taking the lead with a 13-1 run. The run started with 4:42 remaining, when Wooster's Marty Bidwell was whistled for his fourth foul and then was assessed with a technical foul. Senior wing Brian Cafarella (Westerville/North) hit the technical shots and senior post Dustin Rudegeair (Yellow Springs) added the free throws from the original foul to make it a 72-66 game.

Wickliffe hit the second of 2 free throws for Wooster, but the Bishops came back with a lay-in by senior guard Casey Teeters (Westerville/Columbus St. Charles) and a 3-pointer by Cafarella before tying the game at 73-73 on Jean's lay-in with 2:35 remaining.

Cafarella followed with a pair of free throws for a 75-73 Ohio Wesleyan lead with 2:04 remaining.

James Cooper hit the first of 2 free throws with 1:29 left to bring the Scots within 75-74, and after a Bishop miss, Wickliffe sank a pair of free throws with 1:03 remaining for a 76-75 Wooster lead.

Jean's lay-in gave the Bishops a 77-76 lead, and on Wooster's ensuing possession, Dustin Geitgey drove and missed a lay-in, but Wickliffe snared the rebound and went back up and scored to make it 78-77 with :18 remaining.

Looking for the go-ahead bucket, junior wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) tried to drive the right baseline but lost the ball in traffic and out of bounds with 5.8 seconds to go. The Bishops fouled Devin Fulk on the inbounds pass and Fulk sank both free throws with 5.0 seconds remaining, giving Ohio Wesleyan a chance for a game-tying 3-pointer, but Teeters's shot at the buzzer was off the mark.

Wooster jumped on top on Brandon Johnson's lay-in on the opening possession of the game, but Ohio Wesleyan answered by scoring the next 7 points on a Jean jumper and a 3-pointer and a lay-in by Holliday for a 7-2 lead with 15:35 left in the first half.

Holliday converted a 3-point play for a 19-13 Ohio Wesleyan lead with 9:17 left in the first half, the Bishops' biggest lead of the game, before Wooster responded with a 16-3 run that included a 3-pointer and 2 baskets by Fulk and a 3-pointer by Bidwell, and was capped by a Geitgey 3-pointer that made it 32-25 with 3:30 to play in the half.

The Scots stretched their lead to 39-31 on James Cooper's jumper with :07 left in the half, but the Bishops countered as sophomore guard Robby Gardiner (Dublin/Coffman) buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer, making it a 5-point game at the intermission.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the second half with a Rudegeair free throw and a Holliday lay-in to close within 39-97, but Wooster scored the next 8 points to stretch the lead into double figures, and took the 61-48 lead on Fulk's 3-pointer at the 10:21 mark.

Holliday led a balanced Ohio Wesleyan offense with 17 points. Jean followed with 16 points, Cafarella finished with 12 points and Rudegeair and junior wing Kyle Miller (Delaware/Hayes) scored 11 points apiece. Rudegeair led the Bishops with 7 rebounds and Cafarella and Gardiner had 3 assists apiece.

Cooper led Wooster with 32 points and Fulk finished with 17 points. Evan Will contributed team bests of 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Box Score