Nick Felhaber
Mike Serbanoiu

Wooster Outlasts Men's Basketball in NCAC Tournament

2/28/2014 10:00:00 PM

Box Score
Wooster 78, Ohio Wesleyan 67

Junior wing Nick Felhaber (Holland/Toledo St. John's) scored to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 68-66 with 2:42 to play in regulation time, but eighth-ranked Wooster ended the game with a 10-1 run to fend off the Bishop rally and win a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinal contest on Friday in Wooster.

Senior post Reuel Rogers (Columbus/Bexley) sank a pair of free throws with 4:16 left in regulation time and Felhaber followed with a jumper at the 2:42 mark to bring the Bishops within 68-66.

Doug Thorpe answered with a 3-pointer on Wooster's next possession, extending the Fighting Scot lead to 71-66.

Rogers split a pair of free throws with 1:52 remaining, bringing the Bishops within 71-67, but Kenny DeBoer hit a 3-pointer with :40 left to give the Scots a 74-67 lead, and DeBoer and Thorpe each hit a pair of free throws during the final 30 seconds to seal the outcome.

Ohio Wesleyan had taken an 18-15 lead on a 3-point play by senior wing Dre White (Lima/Bath) with 9:03 left in the first half, and White gave the Bishops their biggest lead of the game when his 3-pointer put Ohio Wesleyan ahead, 30-24, with 4:02 left in the period.

Wooster closed out the first half with a 15-5 run that included lay-ins by Thorpe and DeBoer and a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from Evan Pannell before Thorpe and Pannell sank 3-pointers during the final minute of the period to give the hosts a 39-35 lead at the break.

Sophomore post Claude Gray (Avon) opened the second half with a 3-pointer to bring the Bishops within a single point, but Wooster scored the next 7 points on a Scott Purcell bucket, a Fanelly 3-pointer, and a Xavier Brown lay-in to extend the lead to 46-38.

Ohio Wesleyan stayed within striking distance, finally closing to within 61-59 on a Rogers jumper with 6:07 to play, and after a DeBoer lay-in, Felhaber converted a 3-point play to bring the Bishops within 63-62 with 5:22 left.

Thorpe sank a 3-pointer on Wooster's next possession, and Fanelly followed with a fast-break lay-in to give the Scots a 68-62 lead with 4:35 to play, setting up the frantic final minutes.

Rogers led the Bishops with 20 points, while Felhaber finished with a career-high 19 points.  White added 13 points and led the Bishops with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

DeBoer led Wooster with 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.  Brown finished with 15 points, Thorpe scored 13 points, Fanelly had 10 points and a game-high 13 boards, and Pannell scored 10 points.

Box Score
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