Wooster Rallies Back to Beat Oberlin, 57-53

OBERLIN, Ohio – Junior Keonn Scott knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 28.9 seconds remaining, The College of Wooster men's basketball team recorded two steals in the final 15 seconds, and the Fighting Scots overcame a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes to beat Oberlin College 57-53 on Wednesday evening at Philips Gymnasium.

All five of Wooster's (18-6, 12-5 North Coast Athletic Conference) starters had a key part in how Wednesday's final minute played out. First, junior Dontae Williams tapped an offensive rebound toward the foul line, where the board was ultimately secured by senior Trenton Tipton. Tipton quickly located an open Scott on the wing, and the Scots' junior didn't disappoint, with his triple staking Wooster to a 54-53 lead.

Next, coming out of a timeout, Oberlin's (14-10, 8-9 NCAC) Joshua Friedkin looked to drive to the hoop. Wooster sophomore Khaylen Mahdi had the initial deflection with about 15 seconds remaining, prior to senior Danyon Hempy tracking down the ball in the corner. Hempy's outlet pass found Tipton, who upped Wooster's lead to 56-53 on a fast-break lay-in.

Finally, Wolf Moser's pass near the top of the arc in the closing seconds had a little too much mustard on it, skipped off a teammate, and found its way into the waiting hands of Wooster sophomore Brandon Styers. Styers was fouled on the ensuing runout and knocked down his second free throw to make it a four-point game with 0.7 seconds left.

Wooster, which overcame an atypical shooting night, found itself down 49-40 with 5:37 remaining. Andre Campbell staked his team to the nine-point cushion after finishing a reverse layup that came on the heels of his third steal of the night. At that point, the Yeomen were 13-of-23 from the floor in the second stanza, compared to a 4-of-16 mark for the Scots.

The Scots were still down five with 90 ticks remaining. Hempy had the shooter's touch on his three-pointer from the top, and that pulled Wooster within 53-51 with 1:20 to go. Oberlin's Charles Tiedemann was off the mark at the other end. Williams corralled the miss for his seventh rebound of the night, and that set the stage in motion for the final stretch.

Both teams shot over 58 percent back on January 15, when Wooster held on for a 94-92 win at Timken Gymnasium, but a 180-degree turnaround from a shooting percentage standpoint was quickly evident in the first half. Wooster did have a 17-1 run spanning nearly 11 minutes, despite shooting just 5-of-14 during that stretch. That meant the Scots were doing exceptionally well on defense. Four different players logged a steal and two had blocks during the run. Arguably, the biggest highlight came at the 7:27 mark, when Oberlin's Dorde Otasevic sprung free at the rim and was on the verge of having an uncontested layup. Williams, who was in a help defender role on the play, came in just in the nick of time to swat Otasevic's shot away.

After starting 2-of-19 for the game, Oberlin heated up near the end of the first half. Moser's three-pointer started a 4-of-6 stretch for the Yeomen at the end of the stanza, and Oberlin was within 25-17 at halftime.

Hempy's 18 points marked the game high, while Williams' contributions were a key difference. The Scots' junior forward scored 11 points, and was the high-man on the team in rebounds (7), assists (4), and blocked shots (2). Hempy added five rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

Wooster shot 35.3 percent (18-of-51) for the game, was 6-of-14 from deep, and 15-of-21 at the line.

Christian Fioretti and Campbell combined for 21 of the Yeomen's 53 points. Campbell's eight rebounds were tops on the night, and he helped the Yeomen finish with a five-board advantage.

Oberlin shot 37.3 percent (22-of-59), was just 6-of-29 from deep, and 3-of-7 at the charity stripe.

With Wooster's win, plus Wittenberg University's (23-1, 16-1 NCAC) 78-69 victory over Wabash College (16-8, 12-5 NCAC), the Scots are now tied with the Little Giants for second place in the NCAC.

Next, Wooster hosts DePauw University (13-11, 10-7 NCAC) at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Prior to the game, Wooster will recognize its four seniors – Hempy, Blake Southerland, Tipton, and Devin Zagar. Fans will want to stick around after the game, as the College has a special recognition ceremony planned to honor head coach Steve Moore, who is retiring at the end of the academic year.

Vote for Danyon: Be sure to vote daily for Danyon Hempy in the quarterfinals of the "Dark Horse Dunker" competition at darkhorsedunker.com. You can vote once per day per device through 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 26.