Ohio Wesleyan 92, Scranton 70

March 19, 1988

You will not soon find Scott Tedder's name on the front of any supermarket tabloids, making predictions for the coming year.

But as far as Ohio Wesleyan fans are concerned, Tedder ranks right up there with Kreskin, Jeane Dixon and all the rest. At the team's 1987 postseason banquet, Tedder promised his teammates they would win the national championship the next year. "I was half-joking," Tedder said later. "But the Delaware Gazette had it in big headlines: 'Tedder promises national championship.'"

Tedder opened the 1987-88 season with a pair of 34-point performances in leading the Bishops to a title in the Kiwanis Tournament.

The big headlines started coming after the Bishops' next game, a 122-115 win at Division I Ohio University, where Tedder scored a career-high 50 points. The headlines kept coming after a narrow 98-95 loss to Division I Morehead State. Tedder and Lee Rowlinson each scored 34 points in the contest, with Tedder becoming Ohio Wesleyan's all-time leading scorer, passing the 1905 points scored by Barry Clemens '65, an 11-year NBA veteran.

After an overtime loss to Allegheny to open North Coast Athletic Conference play, Ohio Wesleyan was unstoppable, reeling off wins in its final 11 league games for a share of the regular-season crown. Ohio Wesleyan then claimed the NCAC tournament championship with wins over Kenyon and Allegheny.

With a 22-5 record, Ohio Wesleyan was not only going to its first NCAA Division III tournament, but was selected to host the Great Lakes Regional.

Ohio Northern, seeded fourth despite giving the Bishops 2 tough games during the season, was Ohio Wesleyan's first foe. Rowlinson scored 16 straight points during the second half to lead the Bishops to a 77-70 win. Then it was Tedder's turn, scoring 29 points, including the game-winning 3-point bucket with :02 left in the second overtime, for a nailbiting 110-107 win over Hope. Tedder earned the regional's Most Outstanding Player award, but it was reserve baseline Mark Slayman who sank 2 free throws that sent the game into overtime.

At his best in the big games, Tedder was brilliant again in a 106-103 quarterfinal win over Illinois Wesleyan. He finished the game with 39 points.

In Grand Rapids, Mich., Tedder and Rowlinson scored 35 of their 64 points in the second half as the Bishops pulled away from Nebraska Wesleyan for an 87-71 semifinal win.

Tedder then led the Bishops with 27 points in the championship game, a 92-70 verdict over 2-time champion Scranton. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, joining Rowlinson on the all-tournament team.

Rowlinson was a second-team All-America pick and was the NCAC's Player of the Year, while Tedder went on to earn Division III Player of the Year honors and head coach Gene Mehaffey was voted Division III Coach of the Year.

Tedder didn't quite sweep postseason honors -- he just missed breaking the Division III tournament scoring record -- but when was the last time Kreskin had that good a season?

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