Scots celebrate NCAC title

  • By Brian Questel
  • March 8, 2010
  • 479
                        
One of the rarest things in sports is year-in and year-out success. Parity is one thing that stands in the way, and it isn’t uncommon to find teams that can put the magic together for a one- or two-year streak. But to wear that bull’s-eye year after year, and to deal with it, is another matter. What Steve Moore’s College of Wooster men’s basketball team accomplished again his past week led to what is seemingly an automatic, annual payoff when the Scots won their 12th North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title in the league’s 26-year existence. It was their seventh in the past 12 and they turned that feat by doing to rival Wittenberg what the Tigers did to Wooster less than a month ago. In that showdown the Tigers played a superb first half in building an 37-23 halftime lead in steamrolling the Scots 67-56 to split the season series. Last Saturday, Wooster returned the favor, building an 18-point halftime advantage en route to an 88-77 victory over the Tigers in the NCAC championship game as Nathan Balch scored a season-high 22 points to earn tournament MVP honors. The payoff wasn’t only for conference hardware, but the automatic berth in the NCAA postseason tournament for the eighth consecutive season and Wooster’s 15th out of the past 16 seasons. It is Wooster’s 19th all-time, with only six other schools receiving more bids, including leader Wittenberg (24). Not only that, but it gave the Scots precious home-court advantage through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament as Wooster, ranked No. 19 nationally by D3hoops.com, played host to Defiance (23-5), Grove City (19-8) and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (22-5) in the tournament that began March 5. Wooster played Grove City, winner of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, while Heartland Conference champion Defiance faced No. 8 UWW, which was the regular-season and tournament runner-up in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. “It’s good to still be playing,” said Moore, who watched his team improve from a 2-3 and then a 5-4 start before racing to a 15-1 mark in the NCAC and a 23-5 mark as it headed into Friday’s contest with Grove City. “We played some very good teams (early) and we hadn’t jelled yet. The fact we played good teams let us know specific areas where we need to improve, so I wasn’t concerned. I knew we would improve and get better.” That Wooster did. From that 5-4 mark following a 72-65 loss to nationally ranked Randolph-Macon on Dec. 14, the Scots didn’t lose again until Feb. 13, when Witt came to town to snap their 13-game winning streak. By then, Wooster was 14-0 in the NCAC and had the crown wrapped up. “You certainly don’t like to lose, but it made us better as a result,” said Moore. “Wittenberg was highly motivated. We had beaten them four straight times … so they had a lot to prove.” That motivation shifted to Wooster this past week, first with the automatic NCAA bid and then the opportunity to host. “Our players are excited to be playing and be hosting the tournament,” said Moore. “Even though we’ve had the opportunity almost every year, it doesn’t get old,” said Moore. “It’s exciting to know we are playing in the national tournament, but we never take that for granted. We start every year believing we’ll have a good team and a chance to win the conference. It’s a difficult challenge and you have to keep improving and jell. “You never want to take that for granted.”


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load