14th-Ranked Scots Tripped Up at Denison, 72-71

GRANVILLE, Ohio – The 14th-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball team climbed out of a 14-point second-half hole to tie Denison University at 68 with 2:26 remaining, but the Fighting Scots couldn't convert on a potential game-winner, which enabled the Big Red to hold on for a 72-71 win at Livingston Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

Wooster (13-3, 7-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) found itself trailing 60-46 with 14:30 remaining in the contest. Junior Dontae Williams, who was limited to 4:21 of court time in the first half due to early foul trouble, spearheaded the Scots' 22-8 run. The communication studies major's contributions started outside the scoring column, where he added a block, steal, and offensive rebound to his midweek line prior to knocking down a pair of free throws. Williams scored 14 of the Scots' 22 points during the run.

Two Keonn Scott free throws pulled Wooster within 63-62 with 7:19 remaining, and at that point, the Scots were a collective 14-of-14 at the charity stripe. Later, two more Williams free throws made it a one-possession game at 68-66 with 3:04 to go. Scott stole the ball from Denison's (5-11, 2-7 NCAC) Kevin Cheng on the ensuing possession, but Wooster's go-ahead three-ball was off the mark. Senior Trenton Tipton was first to the offensive rebound, and he deflected the ball out top to Williams. From there, Williams quickly found Scott, and Wooster's junior knocked down a jumper to tie the game at 68 with 2:26 remaining.

A jumper by Denison's Freeman Brou and two Jack Coulter free throws accounted for the next four points. Then, Wooster's Danyon Hempy knocked down a pull-up triple to make it a one-point game with 46.9 seconds to go.

At the other end, Williams swatted aside Will Hunter's layup with about 21 ticks left. Wooster couldn't get a three-ball to drop in transition, but the Scots were afforded another chance, thanks to Tipton. The Scots' biology major and a Big Red player battled for the rebound, resulting in a held ball. Wooster had the possession arrow pointing its way, but ultimately turned the ball over in the final second.

Denison, which led the entire game except for when the score was tied at 68, raced out to a 20-10 lead. The Big Red opened the night 8-of-11 from the floor, with that stretch including three Coulter triples.

Ben Stern's jumper with 4:56 left in the opening half upped Denison's lead to 33-20, but Wooster was able to trim the deficit to 42-35 at the half. Scott played a big part in that with all three of Wooster's first-half three-balls, which all came in the final 3:12.

Scott's 24 points marked the game high. He dropped 15 tallies in the scoring column in the first half after going 6-of-8 from the floor, which included a 3-of-5 showing from three-point land. The junior two-upped his career-high in steals to five.

Williams (20) and Hempy (17) rounded out the Scots with double-digit points. Williams collected his fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 11 rebounds.

Wooster shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the field. The Scots were just 5-of-25 from beyond the arc, but were 16-of-17 at the charity stripe.

Brou had a breakout game for Denison. He led three Big Red players in double figures with 21 points, more than double his season average. Conor Fenton logged the team's most-balanced line with 14 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and four assists.

Denison connected at 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the floor, was 9-of-20 from three-point range, and was just 5-of-12 at the line.

Next, the second round of conference action kicks off on Saturday, January 25. Wooster's headed to Hiram College (5-11, 2-7 NCAC) for a 3 p.m. game.