Ohio Wesleyan 87, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 78

Nov. 21, 2008

Senior wing Kyle Miller (Delaware/Hayes) scored 5 points during a game-opening 9-3 run, sophomore wing Dillon McBride (Medina) added 8 points during a 10-0 run to close the first half, and freshman post Pat Pellerite (Olmsted Falls) scored 8 straight points down the stretch as the Bishops held off a Blugold rally to take a win in the first round of the Lee Pfund Classic, hosted by Wheaton College on Friday in Wheaton, Ill.

Ohio Wesleyan will face host Wheaton, an 87-51 winner over Staten Island on Friday, in the tournament championship game at 8 p.m. Central time on Saturday.

Miller opened the evening's scoring with a jumper, and after a 3-pointer by Eau Claire's Colin Boone, junior post Brent Pleiman (Russia) hit back-to-back buckets and Miller buried a 3-pointer to give the Bishops a 9-3 lead.

The Blugolds came back to tie the game at 13-13 on Dan Beyer's jumper with 12:10 left in the first half, and after the teams traded baskets, Eau Claire took the lead at 17-15 on Chance Weisensel's lay-in with 11:03 to play in the period.

Ohio Wesleyan responded with a 9-0 run to take the lead for good, with Miller tying the game on a lay-in and freshman wing Tim Brady (Dublin/Jerome) putting the Bishops ahead with a jumper midway through the half. McBride followed with a 3-pointer and a lay-in for a 24-17 Bishop lead at the 7:15 mark.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire closed to within 34-28 when Jacob Schlub hit a pair of free throws with 2:19 left in the half, but Ohio Wesleyan scored the last 10 points of the half as McBride hit a pair of 3-pointers, senior wing Kyle Holliday (Van Wert) added a bucket, and McBride beat the buzzer with a tip-in for a 44-28 Bishop lead at the intermission.

Ohio Wesleyan extended its lead to 20 points on Holliday's 3-pointer early in the second half, and led by as many as 21 points, that coming when Pellerite scored on a fast break to make it a 61-40 game with 13:34 left in regulation time.

Jordan Kappen sank a pair of 3-pointers and Geoff Probst added 5 points as Wisconsin-Eau Claire cut the deficit to 70-60 with 6:15 to go, and the Blugolds put together a 10-3 run that included a pair of lay-ins by Josh Prince and a basket and a pair of free throws by Colin Boone, cutting the margin to 75-72 with 3:23 to go.

With the Bishops holding on to a 77-73 lead, Pellerite hit a lay-in off a Holliday pass, then sank a free throw and converted a 3-point play as Ohio Wesleyan moved to an 83-74 lead with :58 to play, and McBride went 4-for-6 from the line in the final 30 seconds to seal the outcome.

McBride led the Bishops with 23 points, while Pellerite added 19 points. Miller scored 17 points and led the Bishops with 8 rebounds, and Holliday finished with 15 points and a team-leading 7 assists.

Shea led Wisconsin-Eau Claire with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Kappen finished with 14 points, Prince scored 11 points and Beyer added 10 points.

Box Score