SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The College of Wooster Fighting Scots
advanced to their 10th straight North Coast Athletic Conference
Tournament Championship game by fighting past the Ohio Wesleyan
Battling Bishops, 72-67, on Thursday in the first semifinal at
Wittenberg's HPER Center.
The second-seeded and sixth-ranked Scots improved to 23-3 overall
with the victory, while third-seeded OWU ended the season with a
19-8 overall record.
While there were plenty of players on the court, Wooster's Rodney
Mitchell and Ohio Wesleyan's Travis Schwab stole the show. Mitchell
hit for a career-high 27 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field
and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line to lead the Scots to
their third win of the season over OWU. Schwab drained an NCAC
Tournament record-tying 14 field goals, including a career-high
four three-pointers, and finished with an NCAC Tournament record 40
points, breaking an 18-year-old record previously held by OWU's
Scott Tedder.
While the score was close throughout, there were just three lead
changes, and none after 12:02 showed on the clock in the first
half. Mitchell hit a three-pointer at that point to give the Scots
a 16-14 lead they would never relinquish. Wooster was nursing a
32-29 lead going into halftime and stretched it out to as much as
12 on several occasions in the final 20 minutes. OWU made a final
rush, thanks largely to Schwab - who had 26 of the team's 38
second-half points, and closed to within three points with 3:25
left in the game. But Mitchell hit four free throws in the final
1:22 to keep the Bishops at bay.
Wooster moves on to the championship, which is scheduled for
Saturday at 3 p.m. The Scots have won three of the last four
tournament titles and eight all-time.