Scots Hold Off Yeomen, 78-63, to Advance to NCAC Semifinals and Reach 20 Wins for the 20th Consecutive Season

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster scored the game's first 12 points, eventually stretched its lead into the 20s during the second half before weathering a late rally by Oberlin College, as the second-seeded Fighting Scots advanced in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament with a 78-63 quarterfinal win Tuesday night at Timken Gymnasium.

The victory extended a couple of impressive "20" streaks for Wooster (20-6), as it now has 20 consecutive 20-win seasons – the longest active streak in NCAA Div. III (and tied with Duke University for the second-longest across all NCAA divisions).

Also, the Scots will be part of the NCAC Tournament semifinals for the 20th-straight time. They'll play third-seeded Hiram College, a 95-87 winner over Kenyon College, on Friday on the campus of No. 1 seed Ohio Wesleyan University.

Wooster, which had just trounced Oberlin (12-14) by a 97-56 score in the regular season finale, came out focused as it built that 12-0 lead in less than four minutes. Dan Fanelly accounted for six of those points and fellow post Josh Kipfer contributed four, while the Yeomen committed three turnovers and missed five shots before cracking the scoreboard.

Neither team was able to put together a significant run the rest of the half, with the margin staying between 10-to-17 points, including 36-22 at the break.

Similar to the opening minutes, the Scots started the second half strong. They scored eight points in a row during one stretch for a 20-point cushion (44-24), and later, extended it to as much as 61-38.

Oberlin did not go away quietly, as the visitors trimmed a 66-48 deficit at the 4:48 mark to 72-63 when Scott Miller swished a corner 3-pointer with 1:35 left.

Following a timeout, Mitch Balser found Reece Dupler underneath the hoop, with the latter converting the lay-up and putting Wooster back ahead by double figures.

The Scots then got a defensive stop and transition bucket by Spencer Williams to clinch the outcome.

Wooster struggled from 3-point range (3-for-12), but still nearly finished shooting 50 percent from the floor (30-for-61), while the Yeomen hit field goals at a rate of just .323 (20-for-62).

Individually, Williams paced the Scots with 17 points, 13 coming in the second half, and Fanelly was active with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks for his first double-double since Dec. 20. Noteworthy, the junior scored his 1,000th career point – a lay-up with 9:51 remaining in the second half – to become the 41st player in Wooster's tradition-rich history to reach that milestone.

Dupler chipped in 11 points plus four steals, Kipfer had 10 points, and Balser distributed five assists.

Randy Ollie and Jack Poyle, Oberlin's top scorers, each tallied 15 points.

Tip-off for the Hiram-Wooster semifinal is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday, then the gym will be cleared for the second semi, featuring Denison University and Ohio Wesleyan at 8:30 p.m.