Kenny DeBoer

WOOSTER, Ohio – Behind a strong shooting night from 3-point range, The College of Wooster held off a second half surge by Wittenberg University as the No. 14 ranked Fighting Scots prevailed 75-71 to sweep the regular season series from their archrival and clinch the North Coast Athletic Conference championship outright in front of 3,000-plus fans at Timken Gymnasium Saturday night.

Going into the game, Wooster (20-3, 13-1 NCAC) had already clinched a share of the NCAC title, its 12th of the past 16 years and 15th overall, and now just like each of the last 12, the Scots will not share it with anybody else in the league.

While Wooster was forced to hang on late to secure the win, the key stretch of the game came with about 7:00 remaining. Wittenberg (15-8, 8-6 NCAC) had just taken its first lead of the second half at 50-49 when the Scots responded with 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, first from Doug Thorpe, then Evan Pannell, and another by Thorpe, which suddenly gave them a 58-50 cushion at the 5:20 mark.

The Tigers did not go away, clawing back within one possession four times – 59-56, 64-61, 69-66, and 71-69 with :21 left. Each time, Wooster answered on the ensuing offensive series, including a pair of clutch free throws by Jalen Goodwin with :17 on the clock that made it a two-possession game again.

Wittenberg turned the ball over with :09 left to effectively seal the outcome.

The Tigers scored the first five points of the game, but a little later, the Scots went on a 14-4 run to grab their first double-digit lead at 23-13. They were ahead 35-26 at halftime, keyed by Josh Claytor's six points and eight rebounds off the bench.

During the second, Wooster built its biggest advantage, 49-36, at the 13:45 mark, only to see Wittenberg produce its best basketball of the night during a 14-0 stretch that included eight points from Ben Syroka and was capped by an Alex Fultz 3-pointer for what turned out to be the visitors lone lead of the half.

The Scots canned 7-of-11 3-pointeres in the second half and 10-of-21 for the game (.476), tying for the second-most they've made this season, as part of a 49.0 percent night from the field (25-for-51), while the Tigers were at 42.3 percent overall (22-for-52), including 8-of-20 on 3-pointers (.400). Wooster won the rebounding battle 34-27.

Kenny DeBoer scored a career-high 20 points, which included 7-of-10 field goals, and Thorpe matched him with 20, marking his third 20-point game of the season. Thorpe was 4-for-8 on 3-pointers.

Claytor wound up with eight points and a season-high 11 rebounds, Goodwin tallied 10 points, and Xavier Brown passed out five assists, including a pair to Thorpe during that key stretch of 3-pointers during three successive possessions.

For Wittenberg, Zack Leahy had 19 points and Scott Masin posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Next, the Scots will be at Allegheny College (9-14, 3-11 NCAC) on Wednesday night.