SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The College of Wooster was on the wrong end of Sunday's game-closing run, with Lewis & Clark College rallying back to knock off the Fighting Scots 72-67 at Kaiser Permanente Arena.
Jack Henderson's hot hand was too much for Wooster (7-2), with Lewis & Clark's (6-4) junior guard dropping 33 points on the Scots on 10-of-15 shooting, which included a 6-of-9 mark from beyond the arc. Henderson buried his final triple with 55 ticks left, and that was the go-ahead bucket. Wooster senior Najee Hardaway was whistled for a charge on the next possession, then earned redemption with his fourth steal of the game. First-year Jamir Billings' game-tying three-point attempt hit the rim and caromed to Jalen Lowery, and he was uncontested, resulting in precious time running off the clock before junior Turner Kurt was able to close in for the foul.
Patrick Brenden sank both free throws with 2.5 seconds left, making it a five-point game. Brenden's two from the stripe capped the 9-0 run.
Sunday's game was a true back-and-forth thriller featuring 15 lead changes and six ties. Wooster led by as many as 10 with 4:34 left in the first. Lewis & Clark's biggest lead was five with 13:22 to go in the opening half.
Two technical fouls on Lewis & Clark, one with 5:42 remaining and the other with 4:24 left, nearly proved to be costly. Senior Brandon Styers hit 3-of-4 at the line on the technical free throws, and later, Kurt's layup upped Wooster's lead to 67-63 with 2:49 left.
An equally exciting first half saw six lead changes and four ties. Styers' cutting layup broke a 17-17 tie at the 8:24 mark, with Billings passing out his third assist of the afternoon on the play. Billings was next to finish at the rim, then Kurt found Styers for another signature cutting lay-in that upped Wooster's lead to 23-17 at the 6:39 mark. Styers capped an 11-2 run with a three-ball – Wooster's first three-pointer in Santa Cruz – with 4:59 to go in the first half, and that put the Scots up 28-19.
Led by Henderson, Lewis & Clark stormed back and was within two at halftime. Henderson tallied 20 points in the opening 20, 15 of which came on three-pointers. He was 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first half alone, while Lewis & Clark scored 18 of its 34 points on threes.
Styers' 21 points led the Scots. The biology major went 7-of-12 from the field and added five rebounds to his Sunday line. Billings scored 14 points and passed out seven assists to give him 17 helpers on the California trip. Kurt rounded out the Scots in double figures scoring with 11 points. Hardaway upped his career-high in rebounds to 11, and Sunday marked his second career double-digit rebound game. Billings matched Hardaway for the team lead in steals at four.
Wooster shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) for the game, was 2-of-13 on three-pointers, and went 17-of-24 at the line. Wooster finished with a 36-31 edge in rebounds.
Patrick backed Henderson up on the scoring sheet with 12 points. Henderson's seven rebounds led the team, as did Ryan Cibull's eight assists.
Lewis & Clark shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) for the game, went 10-of-24 on three-pointers, and was nearly perfect at the line, finishing 16-for-19.
Next, Wooster hosts one of the oldest small college basketball events – the E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic. Action starts on Wednesday, December 29 with Lynchburg College (7-2) tangling with Muskingum University (2-7) at 5:30 p.m. and La Roche College (3-5) playing Wooster at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 30 starts with the consolation game at 5:30 p.m. and the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Fans can receive half-price admission with donation of new or gently-worn clothing items for Goodwill Industries.