Furious Comeback Falls Short, as No. 10 Wooster Edged by No. 14 OWU 92-89

WOOSTER, Ohio – Once trailing by 26 points in the second half, The College of Wooster, ranked No. 10 (D3hoops.com), stormed all the way back and took a 3-pointer that would have extended the game to overtime, but it was off the mark as No. 14 Ohio Wesleyan University hung on for a 92-89 win in a riveting North Coast Athletic Conference match-up Wednesday night at Timken Gymnasium.

After falling behind 74-48 with 12:15 remaining, Wooster (3-2, 0-1 NCAC) followed with a 22-4 stretch, fueled by 15 points from Evan Pannell, to close within single digits at 78-70 with just under eight minutes left.

Ohio Wesleyan (6-0, 2-0 NCAC), which received a career-high 33 points from Claude Gray, steadied itself and was ahead 89-80 entering the last three minutes.

A Dan Fanelly put-back, a Battling Bishops' miss on the front end of a one-and-one at the free throw line, a Pannell driving lay-up, a second miss on the front end of a one-and-one, and a Pannell 3-pointer brought the Scots to 89-87 at the 35.4 mark.

With 28.2 seconds on the clock, Gray stepped up and sank two free throws to make it a two-possession game (91-87), then the Scots' Spencer Williams countered with two of his own at the charity stripe, drawing the hosts within 91-89 and 22.0 ticks remained.

Wooster caught a break when Will Orr of Ohio Wesleyan made 1-of-2 at the free throw line, as it gained possession with 15.0 seconds to go. The Scots worked the ball around the perimeter looking for the tying 3-pointer, but Pannell's well-defended attempt was off to the left and Gray rebounded to seal the outcome.

The Scots got off to a slow start, trailing 10-2 five minutes in, and worked their way back into it the first time as a deep 3-pointer from Alex LaLonde gave them a 22-21 lead. It stayed close the rest of the opening half, with the Bishops going into the break with a 43-37 advantage.

The two teams opened the second half by exchanging four 3-pointers within 80 seconds of play. Ohio Wesleyan's second sparked a 23-3 run, which included 3-pointers by four different players, for the seemingly comfortable 26-point cushion.

For the game, the Bishops shot 55.0 percent from the field (33-for-60) while taking exactly half of their shots from outside the arc (14-for-30). Wooster's offense was impressive, too, hitting 50.8 percent from the floor (32-for-63), and the Scots won the rebounding battle 34-26, but may have been done in by 13 turnovers.

Pannell had a career night with 25 points, 23 coming during the second half. He also notched the first double-double of his career with 10 rebounds, and added three assists without a turnover plus a career-best four steals.

Fanelly contributed a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards, while Xavier Brown tallied 19 markers in the scorebook. Williams was also in double figures with 11 points.

Gray's 33 points included hitting his first five 3-point attempts and he was 12-of-19 on field goals overall, while Nick Felhaber was 5-of-7 from the 3-point line on his way to 22 points. Nate Axelrod gave Ohio Wesleyan a lift during the first half with 13 points and four assists.

Wooster's challenging schedule continues with a road trip to No. 18 DePauw University (4-1, 0-1 NCAC). The Scots and Tigers will tip-off Saturday at 3 p.m.