Wooster’s Record Run Against Archrival Concludes

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team could not get going offensively on Saturday night, and that resulted in Wittenberg University snapping the Fighting Scots' record nine-game rivalry winning streak 60-50 at Pam Evans Smith Arena.

Both teams struggled mightily in the shooting department, and that enabled Wooster (15-5, 7-4 North Coast Athletic Conference) to stay in the game. Wooster certainly had its chances, and was within 44-43 when senior Ashton Price knocked down a pair of free throws with 5:58 remaining in the game. However, Wittenberg's (8-11, 5-6 NCAC) Cameron Harrison hit his third triple of the game with 4:57 on the clock to extend the Tigers' lead to 47-43 and Wooster was never able to recover from there.

Price, who made his return to Wooster's lineup after a near-two-month absence due to injury, did his part, pulling Wooster within 47-45 on a signature reverse layup with 4:02 to go, and he again had the Scots within two on another layup inside the final two minutes. Harrison countered with his fourth 3-pointer for Wittenberg and the Wooster could not get within a single possession the rest of the way.

Senior Jamir Billings came away with a loose ball on a Spencer Davison turnover with 10:37 remaining in the second half. The steal marked Billings' 300th of his career, moving the star senior into the top-25 in Div. III history.

Price's free throws opened the night's scoring, while later, it took a 9-0 Wooster run to reclaim the lead just past the first half's midpoint. Price's fastbreak layup on a Billings feed capped the run. Junior Isaiah Johnson's block on Tyler Galluch set up the fastbreak opportunity for Wooster. Earlier, Billings picked Davison's pocket, leading to an uncontested fastbreak layup that made it 9-7, and the game was tied at nine on junior Isaac Roeder's bucket.

Wooster's last lead came at 25-22 on a Billings free throw just before halftime. Harrison sent the teams into the locker room tied at 25 with a 3-pointer, and that marked the first points of an 8-0 Wittenberg stretch. Cal Bavineu's layup with 16:34 remaining marked the go-ahead bucket.

Price led all players with 15 points in his return to the lineup. He was followed by Billings, who had eight points and six steals.

Wooster shot just 28.3 percent (15-of-53) from the floor and went 3-of-25 (12 percent) from beyond the arc. Wooster was also outrebounded 35-28 after finishing with a 42-22 rebounding lead when the teams met on January 4 at Timken Gymnasium.

Photo courtesy of University of South Carolina athletics

Harrison's 12 points led Wittenberg, and he was the only Tiger in double figures. Wittenberg was equally as bad from the field, shooting just 34.8 percent (16-of-46). The big differences were a 22-of-26 ledger from the line and the aforementioned rebounding lead.

Wittenberg's win was the first in the rivalry since the Tigers' 88-81 triumph on February 15, 2020. Wooster now leads the all-time series 70-61.

Next, Wooster hosts Kenyon College (5-15, 3-8 NCAC) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 5. The Owls handed 15th-ranked Denison University (17-2, 9-1 NCAC) its first conference loss on Saturday with an 82-77 double-overtime win.