Brown, Pannell Lead Wooster to Win in Offensive Shootout With Rival Witt, 104-97

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster and Wittenberg University added another thrilling chapter to one of the best rivalries in small-college basketball Saturday night, this time an offensive shootout, with Xavier Brown's 33 points and Evan Pannell's 30 – the first time in school history two players scored 30 in the same game – being just enough to help get the No. 14 ranked Fighting Scots past the Tigers 104-97 in front of a near-capacity crowd at Timken Gymnasium.

With the win – its seventh in a row in the series – Wooster takes the all-time lead over its rival, 55-54, and stays tied for first-place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings with Ohio Wesleyan University, both at 7-1 in league play.

Traditionally, the two rivals play hard-nosed defensive battles, sometimes with the winning team only scoring in the 50s, but it was evident from the early stages Saturday that this one would be much different. The Scots made five consecutive 3-pointers – two apiece from Dan Fanelly and Pannell – during one stretch to take a 15-9 lead about five minutes into the action.

After that, the teams seemingly traded baskets for the rest of the first half, as defensive stops were few and far between. Wooster stretched its lead to 10 at one juncture, 46-36, and later Wittenberg (4-11, 2-6 NCAC) crept within four points before Milt Davis hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 57-50 advantage at the break.

The offenses weren't quite as explosive during the second half, and the Tigers put together an 11-4 run to tie it, 69-69 with 11:51 on the clock. In fact, the visitors had a chance to take their first lead since the early stages, but missed a free throw and the Scots responded with eight unanswered, including 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Ari Stern and Pannell.

Wooster continued to hold Wittenberg at bay the rest of the way, though it was a one-possession game as late as the 3:33 mark when Ben Bowen drilled a 3-pointer for the Tigers to make it 87-84.

Brown answered with a 3-ball of his own on the ensuing series, and after Wittenberg trimmed it to four (90-86), the Scots got a much-needed defensive stop and made 12-for-14 free throws the final two minutes to seal the outcome.

Statistically, both teams finished over 55 percent from the field, Wooster at 55.2 (32-for-58) and Wittenberg slightly better at 57.6 (34-for-59). They put up nearly identical 3-point numbers, with the Scots connecting on 14-of-24 (.583) and the Tigers' 13-of-23 (.565), while the biggest difference was Wooster committing just four turnovers, compared to Wittenberg's nine.

Brown's 33 points marked the second-highest total of his career and it came on very efficient shooting – 11-of-15 field goals (4-of-6 3-pointers) and 7-of-9 free throws – while Pannell's 30 was a career high. He spent quite a bit of time at the free throw line, sinking 13-of-15, while making 7-of-14 shots from the floor, including a thunderous dunk during the first half and 3-of-5 3-pointers.

Davis stood out as well, reaching a career best with 14 points, and Fanelly knocked down all three 3-pointers he attempted as part of a 13-point night.

Also noteworthy, Alex LaLonde stood out on the defensive end with game highs in rebounds (7) and blocked shots (4), and Spencer Williams distributed a career-high seven assists.

Cody Phillippi paced four Tigers in double figures with 18 points as he hit 4-of-7 3-point attempts.

The Scots return to action on Wednesday night when they'll be at fourth-place Allegheny College (8-7, 5-3 NCAC).