Wooster Upended in Hoosier State Again, Falls at Wabash 68-65

Xavier Brown hit a 3-pointer to give The College of Wooster a 65-64 lead in the final minute, but Wabash College answered and another attempt by Brown was off the mark, as the No. 10 ranked Fighting Scots were tripped up in the Hoosier State again, this time 68-65 to the Little Giants at Crawfordsville, Ind.

Wooster (15-4, 9-3 NCAC), now 2-7 during its last nine games played in the state of Indiana, was behind the whole game until Brown's aforementioned 3-pointer with 36.4 seconds remaining.

After Wabash (12-7, 7-5 NCAC) worked the ball around the perimeter, Kasey Oetting took it himself, driving to the hoop and getting fouled at the 14.9 mark. Oetting sunk both to put the hosts back ahead, 66-65.

Following a Little Giants' timeout, the Scots raced into the frontcourt and settled for a mid-range jumper on the left side. The rebound was batted around before being secured by Daniel Purvlicis, who was quickly fouled with 3.1 on the clock. Purvlicis made both free throws for a three-point margin.

Wooster had one-last look to send it to overtime, as Jalen Goodwin threw a long pass to Evan Pannell but his 30-foot desperation attempt glanced off the right side of the rim.

The Scots fell into an early hole and were forced to play catch-up the whole game. Wabash accounted for 10 of the opening 12 points, and later, had constructed a 23-11 cushion with 8:21 left during the first half.

It was also a 12-point spread of 31-19 when Wooster gained some momentum, with Spencer Williams scoring six points of a 10-5 mini-run to pull within 36-29 at the break.

During the second half, a 15-7 stretch for the Scots transformed a 40-31 deficit into a one-point game, and they had a possession to take the lead. Instead, the Little Giants rattled off 10 points in a row for a double-digit lead (59-48).

A furious rally over the last seven minutes resulted in an interesting finish, but it was not enough for Wooster to pull out the win.

Statistically, the biggest differences were Wabash's ability to get to the free throw line where it went 18-for-30 (.600), exactly double the output of the Scots (9-for-15), and the inside game. The Little Giants won the rebounding battle by 10 (44-34), which resulted in a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points.

Williams was one of the bright spots for Wooster, as he had 18 points and five assists.

Purvlicis produced a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds for Wabash.

Wooster will look to shake its two-game losing streak at Kenyon College (6-13, 4-8 NCAC) on Wednesday night.