Ian Benson
Features Editor
Following an overtime loss to Wittenberg University, the men’s basketball team looked to bounce back against Allegheny College, ultimately cruising to a 91-61 victory over the Gators. The win put the Scots at 20-4 on the season, the 16th straight 20-win season for the team, the second longest streak in NCAA Div. III. The win also locked up the second seed in the NCAC tournament.
The big story of the night was Justin Hallowell ’12, who scored 28 points, including eight three-pointers. The second of those three-pointers broke the record for most career three-pointers by a player in NCAC history, surpassing Kenyon College’s Jamie Harless, who had 275.
The Wooster defense was another strong point of the night, limiting the Allegheny offense to a measly four points in the first seven minutes of the second half, opening up a 20-point lead. From then on, the lead never fell below 16 points before the eventual 30-point victory.
Other strong contributions to the win came from Xavier Brown ’15, who had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists; Doug Thorpe ’14, who had 11 points; and Josh Claytor ’13, who had 10 points on the night. Another key to the Scot victory was the 14 three-pointers they made in the night, shooting 60.9 percent from behind the arc.
The Scots then closed out the regular season on Feb. 18, going up against DePauw in an NCAC tournament preview, where the two teams would meet in the first round, Wooster the second seed, and DePauw the seventh.
The game was tied multiple times throughout the night, with the Scots allowing DePauw to battle back from an early 12-point deficit to keep it close until the final five and a half minutes, when Hallowell connected on back-to-back three-pointers, putting the Scots ahead. The Tigers rallied to tie once more but it would not prove to be enough, never pulling within one possession during the final minute of the game, which the Scots ultimately won 74-67.
Hallowell was the big scorer again, which was fitting considering it was his senior night and his final regular season game in Timken Gymnasium. He scored 22 points in total, including four three-pointers to move his career total to 287.
In addition, Hallowell also had five rebounds and two blocks. Claytor, Brown and Evan Pannell ’15 all had double digits points, scoring 12, 11 and 10 respectively.
The Fighting Scots finished off the DePauw Tigers for the second time in three days, beating the team 59-51 in the NCAC Tournament Quarterfinals. With this win, the Scots advance to the NCAC Tournament Semifinals vs Ohio Wesleyan on Feb. 24.
The Scots held the Tigers to 12 points in the first half but DePauw was able to fight back, closing the gap to three with two minutes left, managing to make the score 54-51, but the Scots held them off to advance.