Scots hang tough down stretch to top Wittenberg

  • brian questel
  • January 26, 2011
  • 237
                        
013111 ScotstopWitt Promo: Scots need big rally to win big game Scots hang tough down stretch to top Wittenberg By Brian Questel It certainly wasn’t a classic performance or one for the highlight reels. But make no mistake. While it may not have been a thing of beauty, it certainly was one that defined heart, and when you are the top-ranked team in the nation, figuring out a way to win matters more than looking good. With first place in the country as well as the North Coast Athletic Conference on the line Jan. 22, The College of Wooster was in danger of falling out of both. When it got down to a gut-check, the Scots roared back against arch-rival Wittenberg by outscoring the visitors 27-9 over the final nine minutes to hand the Tigers their first NCAC setback and claim a heart-pounding 65-58 victory. The seven-point margin gave no indication of the Tigers’ control of the game. After a back-and-forth first half, the Tigers slowly extended their 27-26 halftime advantage to 49-38 over the first 11 minutes of the second half. Wittenberg still led 54-49 with four minutes to play before the Scots surged into another gear. A pair of Ian Franks’ free throws and a long 3-pointer by Justin Hallowell tied the game at 54-all with just under two minutes to play. The Scots got a defensive stop and Franks converted a traditional three-point play to give Wooster its first lead since early in the second half, 57-54 (1:14). Another Wittenberg miss was turned into a Hallowell layup to complete a 10-0 run, pushing the Scots’ edge to 59-54 (0:42). Wittenberg had one final chance to pull within two points with just under 20 seconds to play, but Franks and Balch each hit a pair of free throws to hold the Tigers off. While it may not have been the Scots’ finest showing of the season, Scot coach Steve Moore couldn’t complain about his squad’s resilience against their biggest opponent. “It was not our best effort early,” said Scot coach Steve Moore, who watched his team improve to 18-0 overall and 9-0 in the NCAC, extending the best start in school history by another game. “Part of it was Wittenberg played really well … but we responded, never lost our confidence and continued to compete. “In the first part we did get off to a slow start. We took ill-advised shots and broke down defensively to give them an 8-0 lead. But, we got right back into it and it was a battle the rest of the half.” The struggles both teams experienced could certainly be traced to the intense rivalry between the two schools, and Moore acknowledged as much. “It was a defensive battle,” said Moore, reflecting on the sub-par shooting by both teams. The Tigers shot only 34 percent for the night (21-of-61) and it took an 11-of-21 close by Wooster to up its average to 42 percent (22-of-53) from the field. “Wittenberg is always well prepared and so highly motivated against us. It’s never going to be easy to execute against them,” said Moore. “Our guys really made good decisions down the stretch and made good plays. We hit big shots and made big plays at both ends of court. We had to get it done on both ends; one or the other would not suffice.” Wittenberg (12-5, 7-1) had an eight-game winning streak snapped as the Tigers looked to gain the upper hand in the NCAC. “The intensity did not surprise us,” said Moore. “It was a matter of realizing we had to keep plugging away. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we had the poise and composure to stick with it.” The “we” piece fell in large part upon the Scots’ seniors as Franks had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, Balch had 15 points and Bryan Wickliffe became the 35th Scot to surpass 1,000 points for his career as he added a dozen. “Our seniors have been there and played in a lot of tough games,” said Moore. “They are a big reason why we kept our poise. They are competitors. Nathan was tremendous on defense. He sold out and guarded (Chris) Sullivan and made him work for everything (5 points on 2-of-16 shooting, 11 points under his average). He gave everything. That’s one of the top defensive efforts we’ve ever had. “Wick had some early fouls and had to sit, but he came back in the second half and came through. He made some big baskets and came through on defense. Ian was the same. In tough games he comes through and plays with poise.” The win gave Wooster a game advantage on Wittenberg and two on third-place Wabash (15-2, 7-2 NCAC), but Moore isn’t resting easy. “We have a lot of tough games left,” he cautioned. “It’s not just that we have to go to Wittenberg, but Wabash is home and that’s no given – they are awfully good. Wednesday’s game against Kenyon (Jan. 26) will be a challenge. They had Wabash beat and lost at the buzzer. Wittenberg beat them by eight with a tremendous shooting performance by Sullivan. No, we have a lot of tough games left and we’ve got to be ready to go every night. We could lose 3-4 games and I believe that. “We have to take that (one game at a time) approach,” he added. “We have to prepare hard for every game. Every game is going to be a dogfight and we have to give it our best shot. We can’t be afraid to lose. We can’t play tentatively and we have to go after it. Psychologically we have to tell ourselves it 0-0 and throw that other stuff out.” After playing at Kenyon, Wooster traveled to Hiram Jan. 29


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