Box Score
Wooster 76, Ohio Wesleyan 74

Freshman wing Gabe Johnson (Chicago, Ill./Wheaton St. Francis) drove for a lay-in to give Ohio Wesleyan a 6-point lead in the closing minutes, but 13th-ranked Wooster rallied to take the lead, then withstood a potential game-winning shot to escape with a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday at Branch Rickey Arena.

The Fighting Scots led, 66-63, after a Dontae Williams jumper with 5:44 left in regulation time when the Bishops took off on a 9-0 run.  Freshman post Nick Carlson answered with a hoop on Ohio Wesleyan's ensuing possession, freshman wing Ethan Stanislawski (Massilon/Jackson) followed with a jumper, Johnson stole the ball and fed junior guard Jaret Gerber (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) for a pullup 3-pointer, and Johnson capped the run with a lay-in off a steal by junior post Grant Gossard (Westerville/Olentangy Orange) to give the Bishops a 72-66 lead with 3:09 remaining.

Eric Bulic connected on a 3-pointer for Wooster to make it a one-possession game, and after a Gossard jumper from the lane, Wooster's Danyon Hempy went up for a jumper from the free throw circle, drew a foul, and hit the free throw to bring the visitors within 74-72 with 2:13 to go.

Wooster took the lead with :39 remaining when Eric Bulic, driving to the hoop from the right side, found Trenton Tipton in the left corner, and Tipton connected on a 3-pointer to make it 75-74.

Carlson misfired on a 3-pointer with :13 remaining and Hempy cleared the defensive rebound.  The Bishops fouled Hempy right away, and he hit the front end of the one-and-one with :09 left for a 76-74 Wooster lead, then missed the second, with Johnson snaring the defensive rebound.

With 2 fouls to give, the Fighting Scots used both, resulting in Ohio Wesleyan inbounding the ball in front of its bench with :04.5 to play.  Stanislawski got a look at a game-winning 3-pointer, but his 25-foot shot was off the mark.

Ohio Wesleyan broke an early 8-8 tie with a 10-2 run that included 3-pointers by Johnson and Gerber, but Wooster countered with a 9-0 burst that included 5 points from Hempy.  Wooster would move out to a 32-25 lead on a Bulic 3-pointer later in the half, only to see the Bishops storm back with a 9-0 run that featured a pair of Gossard dunks and a Gerber 3-pointer.

The Scots moved to a 48-40 lead early in the second half, but 3-pointers by Stanislawski and junior guard Tristin Tillman (Bellefontaine) kept the Bishops close before a traditional 3-point play from freshman guard Curtis White (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) and a Johnson 3-pointer made it a 1-point game heading into the home stretch.

Gossard led the Bishops with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Johnson finished with 13 points, Gerber scored 13 points, and Stanislawski had 12 points and 4 assists.

Hempy led Wooster with 23 points.

Box Score