Wittenberg Stuns Top-Ranked Wooster To Claim NCAC Tournament Title

WOOSTER, Ohio - Sometimes the third time isn't a charm. For the third time in its men's basketball program's history, the College of Wooster Fighting Scots ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the nation on a Monday only to be upset by their arch-rival, the Wittenberg Tigers, the following Saturday.

Wittenberg, ranked fifth in the nation, upended the Scots 61-59 in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship game at Wooster's Timken Gymnasium. The win earned Wittenberg its fifth NCAC Tournament title in 16 years in the conference, and the Tigers also laid claim to the league's automatic berth in the 2005 NCAA Division III Tournament, which opens next week. The brackets for the natonal tournament will be unveiled at approximately 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27.

Time and again, the Tigers took the Scots' best shots, and they always found the appropriate answer. Wittenberg led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but held just a 33-29 advantage at halftime, and in the second half, Wooster rallied from an 11-point deficit midway through the half to pull within one at 51-50. Then Wittenberg moved out to a 59-52 lead, only to have the always resilient Scots battle back to within two points with possession of the ball at under 30 seconds left on the clock.

At that point, junior wing Kenny Brady clamped down defensively in the post to force an errant shot and senior wing Andy Bucheit collared the rebound with 11 seconds left. Then NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player Daniel Russ, a junior post, stepped to the line with seven seconds remaining and calmly drained the biggest two free throws of his career, putting Wittenberg ahead by four points and sending them on to the "Big Dance" for the fourth time in the last five years.

The Tigers, who improved to 25-3 overall with the win after finishing second in the NCAC regular season title chase with a 14-2 record, will make their NCAA Division III record 23rd appearance in the national tournament. Wooster, undoubtedly an at-large selection for the national tournament, dropped to 26-2 overall after winning the NCAC regular season title with a 15-1 mark. The Scots advanced to the national semifinals in 2003 and the quarterfinals last year, while Wittenberg was bounced in the second round a year ago.

After dropping a team season-high and career-best 37 points on Wooster in a 102-95 triple overtime loss at home against the Scots on Feb. 12, Russ was again the go-to-player for the Tigers as he finished with 19 points. None were bigger, however, than the two free throws, neither of which even drew iron on the way down. The stats were so even - 25 field each, eight three-pointers each, a five-rebound edge for Wooster, a one-turnover advantage for Wittenberg - that it really did come down to the charity stripe.

Wittenberg finished 3-of-6 from the line, including Russ' 3-of-5, while Wooster was a game-changing 1-of-5.

Wittenberg picked up 12 points from Bucheit, none bigger than a three-pointer at the 4:27 mark of the second half that put the Tigers up 57-52, Brady added nine points in 21 high-quality minutes off the bench, senior guard Danny Brywcynski chipped in with eight first-half points and junior post Dane Borchers overcame a bloody collision in the game's opening minutes to finish with eight points and six boards. Finally, while he may have finished with just three points, senior guard Kenny Molz certainly counts among the Tigers' biggest heroes after he drained a three-pointer to stop the aforementioned 11-1 second-half run and put Wittenberg up 54-50 inside of the five-minute mark.

Wooster, which had won five of the last six NCAC Tournament titles, was led by Springfield native James Cooper, who was spectacular with 19 points off the bench. Matt Schlingman added 12 hard-earned points on the interior and Tom Port and Kyle Witucky chipped in with 10 points apiece.