End of a Truly Remarkable Era: Wooster Bows Out of NCAA Tournament, Moore's Career Comes to a Close

WOOSTER, Ohio – One of the most remarkable coaching careers in college basketball – regardless of division – came to a close on Friday evening, as Grove City College topped The College of Wooster 67-62 in the first round of the 2020 NCAA Div. III Championships at Timken Gymnasium.

With the win, the Wolverines (21-8) authored the final chapter of Fighting Scots' (21-8) legend Steve Moore's career. Moore, who led the Scots for 33 seasons, finished his phenomenal career with an 867-253 ledger in 39 seasons as a Div. III head coach, which included a 780-188 mark at Wooster. He's second all-time in Div. III wins and 12th in NCAA men's basketball victories (all divisions).

With 32.6 seconds remaining in Friday's game, senior Danyon Hempy knocked down both ends of a one-and-one that pulled Wooster within 65-62. However, the Scots couldn't get a steal on the Wolverines' ensuing possession, which forced sophomore Brandon Styers to foul Grove City's Justin Rice with 21.8 ticks to go. Rice, who was a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, upped Grove City's lead back to five.

Wooster couldn't get a three-pointer to fall with about 14 seconds left, and likewise, a three-ball in the closing seconds didn't go down after Nate Peters gave Wooster a late break by missing the front end of a one-and-one with 10.4 seconds on the clock.

The Scots never led in the second half, despite a spirited effort by sophomore Najee Hardaway that started with 6:19 remaining. The guard knocked down a pair of free throws, stole the ball on an errant Josh Brown pass, and then coverted a fast-break layup with 5:52 remaining that tied the score at 53.

Later, Wooster turned the ball over three straight times during crunch time, and that enabled Grove City to open a six-point lead at 59-53 with 3:04 to go. Rice sprung free from Wooster's defense during one of the turnovers and had an easy look at a fast-break layup, and Brown hit a layup in transition on the next possession.

Grove City struck for four points in the opening 29 seconds, and led until a layup by sophomore JG Gillard gave Wooster its first lead at the 11:51 mark of the opening half. Junior Keonn Scott swatted aside Erik Meiners' layup attempt, and his three-ball not long after upped Wooster's advantage to 14-10.

The Wolverines only hit two triples in the game, but both came at the opportune time. That's because Grove City went on an 8-0 run late in the first half, that ended with Peters' three-ball, that upped the Wolverines lead to 34-24. Grove City took a 36-26 lead into halftime.

Hempy's 17 points led Wooster. He finished his standout career third in program history with 2,031 points.

Hardaway scored a career-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Hardaway had two of Wooster's nine steals, and was one of four Scots with multiple assists on the night. Senior Trenton Tipton chipped in with 15 points, while Hempy and junior Dontae Williams corralled seven rebounds apiece.

Wooster was just 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the floor, 7-of-26 on three-pointers, and had four more turnovers than Grove City (16-12).

Peters scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Rice's balanced line included 10 points, six rebounds, five assists, and four steals.

Grove City shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) for the game, was 2-of-10 on three-pointers, and finished with 35 rebounds, the same total as Wooster.

Fifteenth-ranked Elmhurst College (24-5) cruised past Lycoming College (20-9) in Friday's first game, 97-73. The Bluejays shot 57.4 percent (35-of-61) for the game and were led by Derek Dotlich's 18 points. Dotlich was 7-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from three-point range. Elmhurst finished with a 38-30 edge on the glass.

Lycoming, which only had eight turnovers, was led by Darius Dangerfield's 13 points and five assists.

Elmhurst and Grove City will square off in the second round of the NCAA Div. III Championships at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Timken Gymnasium.