Andrew Bell
Sports Writer
The Scots men’s basketball team returned home for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament as the second seed. Their first-round opponents, the DePauw Tigers, held a 7-9 conference record and placed seventh in the conference. Although the Scots were favored, they split their regular season meetings with the Tigers, losing the first 58-60 and winning the second 87-86.
The first possession and points of the game belonged to DePauw. Nick Everett ’24 responded with a score of his own. After another DePauw score, both teams went into an offensive drought. Ashton Price ’25 broke the lack of scoring with a stretch layup, but DePauw led Wooster 6-4 going into the break.
The Scots set up in their offensive zone and gave the ball to Isaac Roeder ’26, who capitalized on the opportunity with a jumper. Roeder scored on Wooster’s next possession, sneaking behind the defense to convert a reverse layup. Everett continued Wooster’s stingy defense with yet another block, then made an easy two-pointer on the ensuing possession.
DePauw launched a 5-0 run before Vinni Viekalas ’26 reignited Wooster’s offensive efforts with a corner three. JJ Cline ’24 found the net for Wooster’s next bucket, giving the Scots a 15-13 lead.
Wooster began the next period with back-to-back three-pointers by Price and Cline. On the opposite side of the floor, they continued their stingy defense, led by two EJ Kapihe ’26 steals. Cox-Holloway continued Wooster’s three-point hot streak, followed by a physical bucket from Everett and another corner three by Roeder. The Scots controlled the game with a 31-25 lead at the stoppage.
DePauw and Wooster both struggled to score following the break. Roeder highlighted the Scots’ defensive efforts with a block. DePauw finally scored from the charity stripe, but the Scots maintained a 32-28 lead going into the half.
The Scots opened up the second half with a defensive stand by Everett. The ball was tipped into Cline’s lap and he found Everett down on the block. The Tigers fouled Everett while he was shooting, and he made one free throw. A three by Cox-Holloway and a slam by Everett highlighted the Scots’ offensive efforts that brought the score to 39-37 in favor of Wooster at the media timeout.
An inbound play set Cox-Holloway up with an easy layup. Price recorded an assist, freezing his defender with a pump fake before dishing it to Everett. Cox-Holloway scored from beyond the arch, but DePauw converted after each Wooster score. Everett turned the Tigers over and tipped the ball to Price. The guard converted with a fast break layup, forcing DePauw to burn a timeout trailing by eight points.
The Tigers began to claw back into the game with consecutive scores. However, Everett stopped the scoring run with a layup of his own. Everett’s score marked the under-12 timeout, at which point Wooster led 54-49.
Everett rebounded a missed shot and laid the ball in for an “and-1” attempt. Jamir Billings ’25, who broke Wooster’s all-time assists record and was named a member of the NCAC All-Decade Team earlier last week, scored a three. The three ball was the final score of the four-minute period, at which point Wooster led 60-56.
Roeder converted for the first bucket after the break with a shot for the Scots. Price continued to produce on the offense after sinking a floater and a corner three. Everett scored a set of free throws after the 30-second timeout to further Wooster’s lead to 70-63 at the break.
A set of free throws by the Tigers closed the gap to five. A technical foul against Wooster and a missed free throw by Price shifted the momentum in favor of DePauw. However, Everett capitalized on a Tigers turnover following a reversed goal tending call.
A foul by Wooster sent DePauw’s Grant Niego ’26 to the line. He went 1 for 2 and tightened the Scots’ lead to only two. As Wooster’s offense wound down the clock, DePauw recovered the ball. Rusty Loyd, the Tigers’ head coach, called a timeout with 7.5 seconds remaining. On DePauw’s final possession of the game, Niego streaked down the court but was stopped inside the paint by a Billings foul.
After two made free throws by Niego, Price lined up from halfcourt and heaved a shot. The ball bounced harmlessly off the backboard and sent the game into overtime. The two squads were tied up at 72 a piece headed into the extra five-minute period.
DePauw won the first possession of the period and sent the Scots onto defense. Billings secured a change in possession and ignited the Scots’ offense, but the Tigers tied the game up at 74. Cline stole the ball and forwarded it to Cox-Holloway who gave it up to Kapihe, who scored on the easy lay-in. Kapihe scored again off of a Price miss. The Scots’ rally distanced them from DePauw and allowed them to secure an 83-80 victory.
An excited Coach Cline said, “Our guys had that look that they were going to get it done. They weren’t worried, and they just had more of a desire to win.”
Congratulations to the Scots on their second-place finish in the NCAC tournament.
