Scots Fall in Final Minute in Greencastle

GREENCASTLE, Ind. – College of Wooster men's basketball junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway's game-tying 3-pointer was answered by DePauw University's Sam Jacobs' go-ahead triple in the final minute of the Tigers' 76-70 win on Saturday afternoon at Neal Fieldhouse.

Both teams overcame seven-point deficits in the final 5:46. Wooster's (19-6, 11-5 North Coast Athletic Conference) was 67-60 in the final 2:32. Junior EJ Kapihe finished through traffic at the rim to get the Fighting Scots within 67-62. Next, senior Jamir Billings blocked Joe Smith's wing 3-pointer, then the Scots' star guard found senior Ashton Price open for a corner triple that made it 67-65. Cox-Holloway's floater pulled Wooster within 70-67 at 1:35 before Kyle Lillwitz was off the mark from range.

Cox-Holloway's one-dribble 3-pointer bounced high off the rim before dropping in, tying the game at 70 with 56 seconds remaining. Jacobs was the next beneficiary of friendly rims, as his go-ahead triple rolled in with 37 seconds remaining. Next, Kapihe's pass was picked off by Lillowitz, who had a breakaway dunk in the final 22 seconds to make it a two-possession game. Wooster's last two desperation shots were off the mark.

Earlier, Wooster was up 60-53 on Cox-Holloway's pullup jumper from the free throw line. Cox-Holloway's bucket capped Wooster's 11-4 stretch that saw the Scots reach 11-of-17 shooting for the second half after going just 9-of-36 in the opening stanza. Price found senior Nick Everett for a strong finish at the rim that broke a 49-49 tie with 9:43 remaining in the contest. A fastbreak layup by Price came next, aided by a Cox-Holloway steal that came from the Scots' collapsing three-two zone.

In the first half, Wooster secured 11 offensive rebounds, yet could not capitalize on the extra chances to overcome the cold shooting from the field. Three of the team's 10 second-chance points came when Everett secured one of his six first-half offensive boards. The forward found an open Isaiah Johnson in the corner for a 3-pointer that gave Wooster a 17-14 edge with the clock showing 9:04. DePauw answered with a 5-0 run before pulling ahead 25-23 on Smith free throws at 4:03. Wooster did not lead again until the 10:48 mark of the second half.

Everett was the offensive bright spot, going 8-of-11 from the field for 16 points. His nine rebounds led all players. Price had the high point count at 17, while Billings and Cox-Holloway combined for 20 points, 15 rebounds, and five steals. Billings moved to 79 steals on the year, trailing just the 84 he had as a first-year and junior for most in single-season program history. The senior is now four steals shy of a top-15 mark in NCAA Div. III history.

Wooster shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) in the second half to up its game ledger to 41.5 percent (27-of-65). Wooster led 42-35 in rebounding.

Lillwitz scored a game-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He hit four triples on the afternoon. Reph Stevenson followed with 13 points and seven rebounds.

DePauw shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) for the game and had just 10 turnovers.

Wooster is the third seed for the upcoming NCAC Tournament and hosts Oberlin College (13-12, 5-11 NCAC) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The winner advances to play second-seeded Wabash College (17-8, 13-3 NCAC) in the 5 p.m. semifinal at Denison University on Friday, Feb. 28.