Scots Make Late Defensive Stops to Preserve Key Victory at Hiram

HIRAM, Ohio – The College of Wooster led or was tied during all but five of its offensive possessions, but still had to make three consecutive defensive stops at the end to close out a hard-fought 89-87 road win over Hiram College Wednesday, and thus forged a three-way tie for first in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

With the regular season sweep of Hiram, Wooster is now 9-2 in league action, which matches Hiram's and Ohio Wesleyan University's marks at the top of the standings.

Trailing 88-87 with the shot clock off, the Terriers had an opportunity to take a late lead, however, an off-balance jumper from the left baseline bounced off the rim and Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) grabbed the defensive rebound, followed by a foul with 1.2 seconds remaining.

Wickliffe calmly drained the first free throw, then following a Hiram timeout, he missed the second and the Terriers heaved a desperation length-of-the-court attempt at the buzzer.

Hiram was ahead as late as 82-81 at the 4:34 mark after Deon Milton completed an old-fashioned three-point play. On the ensuing possession, Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) connected on a 3-pointer from the left to give the Fighting Scots back the lead (84-82).

Next, the Terriers split a pair of free throws before Franks went to work again, this time hitting a jumper from the right elbow while being fouled. He could not convert the three-point play, though, as it remained a one-possession game (86-83).

Wooster did extend the lead during its next offensive set, when Wickliffe got free for a lay-up, assisted by Greg Ross (Cincinnati, Ohio / Archbishop McNicholas). That made it 88-83 with a little over three minutes left, but that would be all of the scoring for the Scots before Wickliffe's free throw.

Hiram converted a pair of close-range jump shots over its next two offensive possessions to pull within 88-87, followed by a timeout with 1:51 remaining.

Each team had three remaining possessions, but came up empty. Wooster's series of stops was highlighted by Wickliffe taking a charge at the 1:02 mark.

The Scots led the entire first half, thanks in large part to 10-of-14 3-point shooting (.714).

Early in the second, Wooster extended its advantage to double digits for the first and only time at 56-46. The Scots continued to hold a sizable lead for a couple more minutes, but then Hiram made its run, trimming a 61-52 deficit to 61-60, keyed by back-to-back 3-balls from Glenn Campbell and Nick Russo.

The Terriers would take their first lead around the 11-minute mark, as another 3-pointer from Campbell put them up 67-65. Wooster scored the next five points before a second 8-0 run by Hiram resulted in the hosts biggest lead of 75-70.

The Scots responded with eight unanswered points of their own, capped by Justin Hallowell's (Worthington, Ohio / Thomas Worthington) eighth made 3-pointer in as many attempts for a 78-75 lead. The teams exchanged field goals over the next three possessions, but then Hallowell's ninth attempt from outside was off the mark and Milton followed with his aforementioned three-point play to set up the exciting final 4:34.

Prior to the last couple of minutes, both offenses were performing at a high efficiency. Wooster ended up shooting 54.5 percent from the floor (30-for-55), including 16-of-28 3-pointers (.571), while Hiram hit a clip of .525 on field goals (31-of-59) and .458 on 3-pointers (11-of-24).

The biggest difference in the game statistically was free throw shooting, as the Scots connected on all but two of 15 (.867; 13-for-15) and the Terriers were 14-for-23 (.609).

All of Hallowell's scoring came on 3-pointers as he finished with a season-high 24 points. Noteworthy, the eight 3-pointers were just one shy of Rich Hochstetler's team record. Franks had a clutch second half, tallying 19 of his 21 points during that stanza.

Wickliffe, who missed Wooster's most recent game due to injury, matched his season in scoring with 15, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the field. He also had a team-high five rebounds, while Nathan Balch (Westerville, Ohio / Olentangy) chipped in 12 points.

Kaleb Reed (Burbank, Ohio / Northwestern) provided the Scots a lift with four rebounds during a season-high nine minutes of action off the bench, all during the first half.

Campbell paced four Hiram players in double figures with 18 points, including 3-of-5 3-pointers.

Next, Wooster faces another challenge Saturday afternoon in the form of Wabash College (8-11, 3-8 NCAC). The Little Giants have beaten the Scots by 17 and 24 points their last two meetings. Opening tip at Timken Gymnasium is set for 2 p.m.