Scots Pull Away at End, Win NCAC Tournament Quarterfinal for 26th Straight Time

WOOSTER, Ohio – Junior Carter Warstler delivered the best showing yet in the recent trend of College of Wooster men's basketball bench players making outcome-altering North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal contributions, senior Turner Kurt scored his 1,000th collegiate point, and the Fighting Scots will play in the NCAC Tournament semifinals for the 26th consecutive time, thanks to Tuesday's 92-77 win over Oberlin College at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (20-5), which scored its 20th win for the 25th time in the last 26 seasons, will take on fourth-seeded Denison University (15-10) in Friday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal game at Timken Gymnasium, while second-seeded Wabash College (19-7) kicks off the semifinals against sixth-seeded DePauw University (18-8) at 5:30 p.m. Friday's winners play in Saturday's championship game at 4 p.m. at Timken Gymnasium.

Warstler more than doubled his career-high, reaching 25 points on the night. A 6-of-9 showing from beyond the arc accounted for most of the scoring. He hit five triples in the first half alone, three of which came during Wooster's 13-3 stretch. Warstler's first three-pointer during the run broke a 28-28 tie and gave Wooster the lead for good. His second triple made it 36-28 with 3:40 on the clock, and eight was the difference in the scoring column again once Warstler connected with 2:41 to go. His final point of the night came on a free throw with 2:42 left in the contest, and that officially closed the book on the 23rd 25-point game by a Scot in the NCAC Tournament.

Deadly outside shooting was on display by both teams, with Wooster and Oberlin (8-18) combining to go 31-of-70 (44.2 percent) from beyond the arc. Wooster's 17 triples are tied for the sixth-most in program history and are the top mark since the Scots sank 18 against Hiram College on January 20, 2019, while the 42 attempts are three off the all-time school record set back in 2006. Eight Wooster players knocked down a three-pointer on the night, with sophomore Jamir Billings and junior Elijah Meredith backing Warstler's hot night up with three apiece.

Wooster was running away from Oberlin after halftime. Meredith finished a feed from senior Najee Hardaway, came away with a steal, then had a breakaway dunk that made it 47-34 at the 19:10 mark. Next, junior JJ Cline finished through contact, completed the and-one play, and capped a quick 7-0 run that had Wooster up 50-35. The lead was 17 after Kurt's three-pointer, but Oberlin was within three when Adam Navarre finished a 29-15 Yeomen stretch at the 8:25 mark with a three-pointer.

Hardaway, Meredith, and Billings quickly stopped the bleeding with a trio of three-pointers, and Wooster's lead never dipped below 11 the rest of the night. A lengthy entry pass by Cline to Warstler led to two fast-break free throws after the former football wideout was fouled, and those had Wooster up 86-68 with 3:21 left in the game. Kurt was fouled on the next possession and hit the second free throw for his 1,000th career point between NCAA Div. II Edinboro University and Wooster.

Meredith, who averaged 18.7 points during last year's NCAC Tournament, picked up right where he left off with 19. Billings scored 15, while Kurt finished at 11. Cline's eight rebounds spearheaded Wooster's near 2-1 edge on the glass. The junior had five offensive boards, three more than Oberlin had total on the offensive end. Billings and Hardaway shared high honors in assists at six, while Billings had four of Wooster's eight steals.

Wooster shot 44.6 percent (33-of-74) from the floor, was 40.5 percent (17-of-42) on three-pointers, went 9-of-11 at the line, and had 47 rebounds to Oberlin's 24.

Will Bousquette scored 16 points to lead four Yeomen in double figures. Dorde Otasevic and Anastasis Spyroglou scored 13 apiece.

Oberlin shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the floor, was 14-of-28 (50 percent) on three-pointers and went 13-of-19 at the line for 68.4 percent. Both teams finished with 15 turnovers.

Ticket prices for the NCAC Tournament semifinals are set by the NCAC office. Semifinal tickets are $10 for adults (includes senior citizens and College of Wooster faculty and staff members), $5 for children (18-and-under), $5 for holders of a NCAC Guest Pass, and $5 for students with a student ID card from a non-NCAC institution. Students who currently attend a NCAC institution are admitted free of charge, but must present their student ID card at the ticket booth. A semifinal ticket is good for admission to both games as Timken Gymnasium has a capacity over 2,000.

Ticket prices for Saturday's 4 p.m. championship game are $10 for adults (includes senior citizens and College of Wooster faculty and staff members), $5 for children (18-and-under), $5 for holders of a NCAC Guest Pass, and $5 for students with a student ID card from a non-NCAC institution. Students who currently attend a NCAC institution are admitted free of charge, but must present their student ID card at the ticket booth.

Wooster season tickets are not valid for NCAA and NCAC Tournament games.