Andrew Bell
Staff Writer
The College of Wooster trotted out onto Chadwick Court in Crawfordsville, Indiana for their final regular season game of the year. The Fighting Scots had won two out of their previous three matches on the road against Wittenberg and Hiram. The victories placed Wooster in the top spot in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) with Wabash, who had already beaten the Scots in their earlier contest at Timken Arena. The Scots had strung together an impressive 10-game winning streak since their defeat. If the black and gold won, they would have become the NCAC regular season conference champions and hosted the conference tournament for the second year in a row.
Nick Everett ’24 won the final tipoff of the regular season for the Scots. Jaiden Cox-Holloway’s ’26 quick bucket helped Wooster gain control of the game early, and launched a 9-0 run. Cox-Holloway was aided by scoring efforts from Everett, Jamir Billings ’25 and JJ Cline ’24. However, Wabash recovered with a run of their own. After a lull in offense by both teams, EJ Kaphie ’26, who boosted the Scots with 15 points off the bench, recorded his first points of the game.
Ashton Price ’25 and Isaac Roeder ’26 saw success through the next four-minute period, leading another 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead. Yet, the Little Giants were stingy and continued to charge at the Scots. After tying the game, Wabash had a short run and found themselves with a 26-24 lead at the under-eight minute timeout. Wooster responded and tied the game at 31 apiece with efforts from Everett, Cline and Price. They eventually stole the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. However, Wabash retook the lead by capitalizing on a three-point attempt. Billings closed the Scots’ offensive efforts in the first half with a short jump shot. The Scots were losing by one point at the half as the score was 38-37.
The second half opened similarly to the first, with the Scots going on a furious 6-0 scoring run. The run was highlighted by several offensive rebounds by Everett and Cox-Holloway, a steal by JJ Cline and a deep three ball from Price. Their offensive success did not last as they entered a scoring drought of approximately two minutes, allowing Wabash to take a 49-48 lead at the under-16 minute timeout.
Wooster came out of the media timeout with a sense of urgency, tying the game at 52. After a successful Kapihe jumper, the Scots did not score for the rest of the four-minute period. Instead, Wabash regained control with an 8-0 run. A combination of scores by Roeder and Kapihe brought the score within a single possession, but their valiant effort was halted by another Wabash three-point shot. The deep ball completely changed the disposition of the game, powering a 10-0 Little Giants run. Everett broke Wooster’s offensive slump and was the final scorer before the media timeout, at which point Wooster was behind 71-63.
The break seemed to energize Wabash even more, who piled on another scoring run to increase their lead. Nevertheless, the Scots brought the score within 10 due to shots from Everett, Kapihe and Vinni Veikalas ’26. Price also continued to contribute, knocking down three shots from behind the arc. Cox-Holloway closed out Wooster’s offense after a three-pointer fell for him. However, Wabash continued to find success in the offensive zone of the court and maintained their lead. The buzzer sounded as the Little Giants celebrated their 91-81 victory over the reigning regular season champs.
The defeat in the regular season championship is Wooster’s third straight loss to the Little Giants. However, the loss came with several positives. Notably, Billings broke the all-time assists record during the contest. The record, which was held by Erich Riebe ’92, was broken on Kapihe’s final score of the game. Billing’s assist total currently sits at 445 but will increase throughout tournament play. Another promising sign for the Scots was their ability to shoot the ball with success, converting on more than half of their shots.
However, Wabash was able to shoot the ball with absurd precision, as they went 61.7 percent on field goals. Although this loss is deflating to the Scots’ successes, they are still in a position to accomplish their goals of winning the conference and returning to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) tournament. Roeder stated, “[The team] is focused and preparing for the task at hand. We are completely focused on the tournament, and we know we have to take it one game at a time.” The black and gold are hoping to get revenge against Wabash and win the conference as they continue their quest to regain NCAC supremacy.
Good luck to the Fighting Scots in the NCAC tournament!
