Fighting Scots Men’s Basketball lose NCAC Tournament Final 79-75 to the Wittenberg University Tigers
Matt Olszewski
Sports Editor
Although the NCAC tournament did not go quite as well for The College of Wooster men’s basketball team as they had hoped, there was plenty to be proud of. The team was the top seed going into the tournament, as they had the best conference record out of all the NCAC teams. This meant that they had earned home court advantage all throughout the tournament.
On Tuesday, Feb. 19, the team defeated Allegheny College 91-89 in the Quarterfinal game. A few nights later on Friday, Feb. 22, they calmly handled DePauw University 73-52 to advance to another NCAC championship game against the Wittenberg University Tigers. In the game against DePauw, Danyon Hempy ’20 was the leading scorer with 24 points, and the Scots built up a comfortable 44-21 lead going into halftime. Although the second half was more competitive, the Scots ended up winning the game by 21 points. Wooster shot 51.7 percent from the field, while the Tigers shot a poor 29.0 percent from the field.
The third game of the season against Wittenberg and NCAC Championship game was an instant classic and went down to the wire. It marked the 26th time in the 35-year history of the NCAC that Wooster played in the NCAC Championship game.
Trey Miller ’19 was asked about what the team felt like after the win against DePauw. “We felt confident. We played well the whole game and felt that our intensity and execution was at the highest level,” he said. He then remarked on how it felt to be in front of the Scots’ home crowd during the game against Wittenberg: “It gave us motivation and encouragement. Playing in front of 2,000+ fans both nights was great. Having that amount of support is a great feeling,” Miller said. Eric Bulic ’19 also noted the environment of the home crowd: “The crowd was amazing. We really appreciate all of the students coming out and supporting us like they did. It raises the level of intensity and makes it a really tough place to play. It was awesome to see Timken like that.”
In the first half of the game, Wooster built up an eight-point lead with 8:44 to go after a 10-0 run. Bulic, who earned a spot on the all-tournament team, was an important part of the Scots’ success offensively. He dished out two of his game-high four assists during the run and seemed to be one of the centerpieces to Wooster’s offense during that span in the game. One of his assists came from a steal that he picked up. He then passed the ball to Khaylen Mahdi ’22 and Mahdi connected from deep. The Scots maintained their lead throughout the rest of the first half and the team went into the locker room at halftime with a 41-36 lead.
The Tigers came out strong in the second half, going on a 16-2 run to build up a 52-43 lead on the Scots. Blake Blair ’19 talked about this sudden change in momentum at the start of the second half. “The momentum shifted their way at the start of the second half after scoring on 9 straight possessions. We had to step up our defense to gain back the momentum,” he said. Reece Dupler ’19 added onto this. “It was a grind-it-out kind of game, and we played pretty well the first half. We knew to get it done it would have to be with defense;” he said. On the defensive side, Dontae Williams was a force to be reckoned with in the paint. He had four huge blocks over the last five minutes and change. The Scots tied the game up at 72 with 1:30 left after Reece Dupler ’19 hit one of two free throws. Then Danyon Hempy ’20 drained a three-pointer to answer Jacob Bertemes’ three-pointer.
The Scots ended up losing by a narrow margin to Wittenberg this time around by a score of 79-75. Mitchell Balser ’19 of Wittenberg led the team with 19 points, while Connor Seipel ’20 added 18 points along with a team-high eight rebounds. One Wooster player especially stood out: Reece Dupler. He finished the game with 33 points. Danyon Hempy added on 14 and Eric Bulic had 10 rebounds in the game. Dupler had a very successful shooting night, connecting on 13 of his 19 field goal attempts, good for 68 percent, and shooting 5-for-7 from three-point land for 71 percent. He also, just like Bulic, earned a spot on the all-tournament team. His 33 points marked the second-most in any of Wooster’s NCAC Tournament games in program history. Notable as well was Dupler joining the 1,500 points club. He is the 11th Wooster player in history to do so and achieved the mark on a three-pointer with 5:26 to go in the first half.
Wooster’s all-time lead in one of D3 college basketball’s top rivalries now sits at 60-59. Last Saturday’s game was the 13th meeting between the two teams in the NCAC Tournament championship game and the 48th game decided by five or less points. Bulic described the most challenging thing about Wittenberg’s team. “They are just a gritty team with a lot of weapons, I think that is what made them tough for us,” he said. He then said that the biggest positive to take away from this season for the Scots is how gritty of a team they have. Blair’s biggest takeaway from this season is the fact that all of his teammates are his best friends. “I don’t know what I would do without them,” he said. He was also asked about what the team learned most as a result of the regular season and the NCAC tournament. “We learned we are a great team. We just need to stay focused to ensure future success,” Blair said.
The Scots were selected as one of the at-large bids to play in the NCAA D3 Tournament and will face Baruch College on Friday, March 1, at Timken Gymnasium. This marks Wooster’s 17th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. If the Scots win on Friday then they will take on the winner of Wheaton College Ill. vs Hanover College also at home on Saturday, March 2