Capital Knocks Wooster Out of NCAA Tourney on Buzzer Beater

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Capital University's DJ Frazier hit a short jumper just left of the basket, lofting it over two College of Wooster defenders, as the buzzer sounded to give the No. 13 ranked Crusaders a 72-70 win during a back-and-forth NCAA Div. III Tournament second round match-up Saturday night at the Capital Center.

Wooster's Nathan Balch (Westerville, Ohio / Olentangy) had tied the game moments earlier by draining a 3-pointer from just left of the top of the key with 9.1 seconds to go.

Without calling timeout, Frazier took the in-bounds pass, brought the ball quickly up past midcourt, then hesitated for a couple of seconds to let the clock run down before penetrating for the game-winning shot.

That put a close to an emotional postseason run for the Fighting Scots that saw them clinch the North Coast Athletic Conference's championship on the final day of the regular season, then endure the tragic death of Corey Cline, the three-year old son of long-time assistant coach Doug Cline, the very next day. After contemplating forfeiting its NCAC Tournament quarterfinal game, Wooster dedicated the remainder of the season to Corey's memory, honoring him with a conference tourney championship and first-round victory in the NCAA's.

The Scots (23-7) nearly made it into the sectional semifinals, otherwise known as the "Sweet 16." They led 35-30 at halftime, but had to weather an 18-2 Capital run early in the second, which saw the Crusaders take a 48-40 lead. In fact, they scored 15 unanswered points, including two 3-pointers by Nate Stahl and an old-fashioned three-point play from Ross Niekamp.

Wooster, fueled by the play of Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep), would answer with 10 consecutive points of its own. Wickliffe accounted for seven of those.

Ahead 50-48, the Scots would stretch that run out to 57-52. Then, the Crusaders scored five in a row to tie it, including Niekamp's conversion of another traditional three-point play via a lay-up and free throw.

The two teams would trade big baskets for a stretch, as it was tied at 57, 60, 63, and 66 with 1:52 left.

Wooster worked the clock down 20 seconds or so, but was unable to get a jumper in the lane to fall. Then, Frazier went coast-to-coast, grabbing the defensive rebound and laying it in on the other end for a 68-66 lead.

On the next possession, the Scots got the ball in to Wickliffe and he was fouled. He made the second of two, pulling Wooster within 68-67 at the 1:15 mark.

Capital missed its initial shot on the ensuing series, but Stahl grabbed a long rebound. The Crusaders then ran the shot clock all the way down before Ryan Wood drew a foul on a drive to the hoop. With just 20.0 seconds to go, he made both for a three-point cushion, however, it was not enough as it looked like it may go to overtime after Balch's 3-pointer.

The Scots outshot the Crusaders 51.1 percent from the field (23-of-45) to 40.4 percent (23-of-57). However, the difference in the game was Capital's 17 second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds.

Individually, Balch led Wooster in scoring for the second-straight day, this time with 18 points, including 4-of-5 3-pointers. Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) had 17 points, and Wickliffe came through with a season-high 16.

Marty Bidwell (Middletown, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) closed his standout career with nine points and three assists.

Niekamp contributed 18 points and Stahl 17 to the winning effort.