Box Score Wabash came within six minutes of a major North Coast Athletic Conference road upset Saturday afternoon before losing 75-68 to the fifth-ranked College of Wooster Fighting Scots.
Wooster added to a 36-23 halftime lead with a basket by Kenny DeBoer in the first 35 seconds of the final period before the Little Giants' offense exploded. Wabash started a 22-6 run over the next seven minutes, eventually taking a 45-44 lead on a jumper by
Austin Burton. DeBoer answered with three-pointer to give the Scots a two-point before
Andy Walsh scored two of his 11 points to tie the contest at 47-47 with 10:30 remaining.
The Scots jumped back in front by four points before
Daniel Scofield fired a jumper home with 7:39 left. Wooster got a free throw from Josh Kipfer for a three-point edge, but
Gary Ulrich took over for Wabash from that point. He drilled a three-pointer at the 6:43 mark to tie the game, and then followed with another triple 42 seconds later for a 57-54 lead for the Little Giants.
Wooster (16-3, 10-2 NCAC) put together its own run --- 8-0 sparked by a three-pointer by Evan Pannell --- to take a 65-57 lead at the 3:19 mark.
Kyle Aiton and Scofield drew Wabash to within five points in the closing minutes with three free throws. Pannell missed a three-pointer from the top of the key, but Kipfer snared the offensive board, leading to a DeBoer three-pointer and a Scots eight-point lead. The Little Giants drew no closer than six points with 11 seconds left to play on Aiton's final three-pointer.
Wabash produced red-hot shooting numbers over the final 20 minutes of play. The Little Giants connected on 16-of-29 shots in the second half, finishing the game 25-of-53 for 47 percent. Wabash hit 7-of-12 three-point tries in the final period and 10-of-25 for the game.
Ross Sponsler led Wabash in scoring with 13 points. He shot 5-of-9 from the field with two three-pointers. Aiton scored 11 points along with the 11-point effort from Walsh. Scofield scored eight points and led Wabash with nine rebounds.
The Scots finished 25-of-58 from the field and 10-of-26 from three-point range. Doug Thorpe paced Wooster with 20 points, while DeBoer added 18.
Wabash (5-13, 4-8 NCAC) returns to action Friday with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Chadwick Court versus Hiram College (5-13, 3-8 NCAC).
