Drew Sawyer

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster was too much for an undermanned Thiel College squad Monday night, steadily pulling away to an 82-63 victory, which sets up an all-northeast Ohio championship in the 46th annual E.M. "Mose" Hole/Kiwanis Classic, as nearby Mt. Union College used a second-half comeback to defeat Kean University 78-70 during the evening's first game at Timken Gymnasium.

The host Fighting Scots (6-4) and Mt. Union (9-1) will play for the title Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Despite missing three of its regular starters, Thiel (1-8) found itself with a 19-18 lead midway through the first half of Monday's second game. That marked the Tomcats only lead, though, as minutes later, Wooster would start to build a substantial cushion, stringing together a 12-3 run to turn a 23-21 margin into an 11-point lead (35-24). The Scots were ahead 41-28 at the break.

Thiel utilized an 8-2 start to the second half to stay within striking distance at 43-36. Wooster answered a few possessions later and began to pull away with a 13-1 run, fueled by the play of Drew Sawyer (Dayton, Ohio / Kettering Fairmont). The freshman forward accounted for 10 points during that stretch, including two old-fashioned three-point plays, which helped add up to a 61-41 Scot advantage.

The lead remained in double figures the rest of the way.

Overall, the difference was Wooster's defense. The Scots helped force the Tomcats into 23 turnovers with 11 steals and limited them to 40.9 percent shooting from the field (18-of-44).

Wooster, which hit 51.0 percent of its attempts from the floor (26-of-51), executed a balanced attack with three players in double-digits. Sawyer finished with a season-high 18 points on 8-of-10 field goals as well as a team-high five rebounds, Nathan Balch (Westerville, Ohio / Olentangy) scored 16 to go with a game-high five assists, and Greg Ross (Cincinnati, Ohio / Archbishop McNicholas) tallied 10 points. Ross was starting in place of an ill Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep).

Nick Sefscik paced Thiel with a 21-point effort, highlighted by 5-of-7 3-point shooting.

In Monday's opener, it appeared Kean (4-6) would be the team advancing to the championship, owning a 61-53 lead with eight minutes left in regulation. But a Chris Switzer 3-pointer gave the Purple Raiders a much-needed boost. Moments later, Jay Mathis converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it a one-possession game (63-60), the beginning of a 12-2 Mt. Union run that resulted in a 69-65 advantage.

The Cougars, who were up 41-37 at halftime, never retook the lead as the Purple Raiders canned 9-of-12 free throws to seal the win.

Switzer's 29 points included 7-of-11 3-pointers and was a game high, while Mt. Union received 14 points from Mathis and 12 from Dave Pellerite. Additionally, point guard Sam King contributed 10 assists and seven rebounds – both team highs.

Michael Oglesby sparked Kean off the bench with a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Prior to Tuesday's Mt. Union-Wooster game, Kean and Thiel will match-up in the consolation at 5:30 p.m.