Down-to-the-wire finishes have become a common occurrence when The College of Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan University tangle in men's basketball, and Saturday's game at Timken Gymnasium fit that billing, with the Fighting Scots holding off the Battling Bishops for a 75-71 win.

Junior Najee Hardaway, who scored a game-high 19 points, connected on four in the final 1:21, including a jumper from outside the paint that upped Wooster's (3-4) lead to 71-65. Ohio Wesleyan's (4-6) Grant Spicer countered with a three-pointer with just under a minute remaining, which pulled the Bishops within 71-68.

Next, sophomore Tayler McNeal's floater fell as the shot clock expired, and that padded Wooster's lead back out to five with 26.1 ticks left. Ohio Wesleyan made things interesting from there, as Zane Ries scored three points the old-school way, and Curtis White quickly gave possession back to OWU, thanks to tying up Wooster freshman Carter Warstler on the full-court press. However, Spicer couldn't get a game-tying driving layup to fall in the final seconds, and Hardaway corralled the rebound prior to sinking a pair of free throws.

In the first half, Wooster's play was energized in large part by freshman Elijah Meredith, who took center stage with about 4:30 remaining. First, Meredith logged his second steal of the game, and a thunderous dunk on the fast break came on the other end of the floor. On Wooster's, next possession, Meredith canned a three-pointer, which tied the game at 30, and not long after, he had a key defensive rebound.

After Meredith's board, Hardaway was on point from range, and that trifecta, which came with 3:11 remaining in the opening stanza, proved to be the go-ahead bucket. In fact, Wooster's back-to-back three balls sparked a 14-5 half-closing run, with junior Brandon Styers' floater staking Wooster to a 41-35 halftime lead.

Junior Najee Hardaway scored four points in the final 1:21 and secured the game-clinching rebound in the final seconds. Photo by Matt Dilyard.

Hardaway went 6-of-8 from the floor, which included a 3-of-4 mark from range. The Africana studies major was a perfect 4-of-4 at the charity stripe, and he had four rebounds. Styers backed that up with 18 points and six rebounds. The biology major went 6-of-9 from the floor and knocked down both three-point tries.

Other stats of note included 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals by Meredith and just six turnovers by the Scots, marking the team's lowest total since Wooster had five miscues against Ohio Wesleyan on February 8, 2020.

All five OWU starters reached double digits in the scoring column with Spicer's 16 leading the way. Tony Carter had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Both teams went 26-of-60 (43.3 percent) from the floor and had 35 rebounds each. The difference was Wooster's 8-of-25 showing from three-point range to Ohio Wesleyan's 7-of-25, plus the Scots' 15 made free throws to the Bishops' 12.

Notable, eight of the last 14 Wooster-Ohio Wesleyan games have been decided by five or fewer points.

Prior to the game, Wooster honored its two seniors – Joey Passodelis and student assistant Jack Stevens. Passodelis started and had an early three-pointer.

The game marked Wooster's season finale.