NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament

CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
NCAC champion Wooster claimed its league-leading 12th NCAC tournament championship after an 88-77 victory over third-seeded Wittenberg. Nathan Balch scored a season-high 22 points, 14 in the first half alone, to help the Fighting Scots jump out to an early lead and hold off a surging Wittenberg team in the seond half. He also grabbed four rebounds. Throughout the three-game event, he totalled 48 points and earned the 2010 Al Van Wie award as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Ian Franks (Greenwich, OH/South Central), Wittenberg freshman David Hieber (Perrysburg, OH/Perrysburg) and sophomore Michael Cooper (Springfield, OH/South), Ohio Wesleyan sophomore Tim Brady (Dublin, OH/Jerome) and Wabash senior Chase Haltom (Qunicy, IN/Cloverdale). Franks totaled 58 points in the three games, with 13 assists and 15 rebounds. Cooper led Wittenberg with 33 points in the tournament, highlighted by a 23-point, eight-rebound performance in the final. Hieber totaled 28 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers. Brady paced the Battling Bishops with 36 points in two games, including 27 in the quarterfinals. Haltom was a steady performer for the Little Giants, dishing out six assists with 33 points and eight boards.

As NCAC tournament champions, Wooster earns a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. The NCAA will announce matchups on Monday.

2010 All-Tournament Team
Ian Franks, Wooster
Michael Cooper, Wittenberg
David Hieber,Wittenberg
Tim Brady, Ohio Wesleyan
Chase Haltom, Wabash

SEMIFINAL RECAPS
NCAC champion Wooster advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament for the second straight year and will try to defend its tourney title against rival Wittenberg tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. The game will be played at Wooster. Live video of the championship game will be provided through Teamline. The cost for the championship game will also be $10. Click here to purchase the video. The two teams split their regular season meetings, with each team winning on the other's home floor.

Wooster moves into the title game after defeating Ohio Wesleyan, 87-70, in their semifinal matchup. The Fighting Scots opened the game with a 4-0 lead and then held off the Battling Bishops with a stellar shooting performance. Wooster connected on seven of 13 shots from outside the arc (53.8 percent) and compiled a 61.3 field goal percentage (19 of 31) during the first half; they put together a 14-0 run late in the period that all but put the game out of the Bishops' reach. The Scots finished the night 32-of-61 (.525) from the field, including a 12-for-25 effort from long range and a 11-for-16 performance from the free throw line. Josh Claytor led Wooster with 17 points and nine rebounds. Nathan Balch added 13 points, and Bryan Wickliffe and Ian Franks scored 12 points apiece. Dillon McBride led the Bishops with 16 points, while Andy Winters finished with 10. Ohio Wesleyan finishes its 2009-10 campaign with a 13-14 record.

Wittenberg edged Wabash, 61-60, in the first semifinal conest of the evening. The Tigers had built up a 32-17 halftime lead, but Wabash dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half to erase Wittenberg's advantage. After Wittenberg built the lead back to seven on a pair of free throws by Josh McKee, Wabash again stormed back, scoring nine of the next 11 points to take a 60-59 lead with 45 seconds left. A Wabash foul sent the Tigers' David Hieber to the line - he hit both free throws to give Wittenberg a 61-60 victory.Chris Sullivan and Josh McKee led the way with nine points apiece for Wittenberg. McKee added five rebounds and two assists, while Hieber and Clayton Black added eight points each. Hieberalso snagged five rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. After hitting just seven shots in the first half, Wabash connected on 15-of-30 attempts from the field in the final period to shoot 39.3 percent for the game. Chase Haltom led all scorers with 16 points, followed closely by Wes Smith, who netted 15. Aaron Brock finished with 12 points in his final collegiate game. Wabash closes out its season with an 18-8 record.

QUARTERFINAL RECAPS
What a difference a year makes. Last winter, three of the top four seeds in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament field were upset in the first round of play. This season, three of the top four seeds won their quarterfinal contests on Feb. 23 and will advance to the semifinals. Top-seeded Wooster, second-seeded Wabash and third-seeded Wittenberg all advance after topping Kenyon, Denison and Hiram, respectively. Ohio Wesleyan, which entered the tournament as the fifth seed, upended fourth-seeded Allegheny, in Meadville, 73-59, in their quarterfinal matchup.

As the top seed, Wooster will host the semifinal and championship games on Friday and Saturday. Friday's first semifinal pits Wabash against Wittenberg. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. The Little Giants swept the regular season series between the two squads, including picking up their first-ever win in Springfield, in a series that dates back to 1931. The second semifinal tips off at 8:00 p.m. and features the home Fighting Scots taking on Ohio Wesleyan. Wooster, which turned in a 15-1 regular season record, swept both games of the regular seaosn series against the Bishops. Wooster will also host the championship game, set for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff on Saturday. Live video of the semifinal and championship games will be provided through Teamline. The cost for the semifinals will be $10 (good for both games). The cost for the championship game will also be $10. Click here to purchase the video.

NCAC champion Wooster, the top seed, defeated eighth-seeded Kenyon. Thanks to excellent shooting (55.6 percent), particularly from long range (61.5), the Fighting Scots held a 41-32 lead at the half. Wooster shot over 50 percent from the field for the third straight game. Three players hit double figures for the top seed, led by Ian Franks’ game-high 25. Kenyon got a double-double from Dave Knapke, the 24th of his career, as he put in 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. The Lords finish with a 6-19 mark.

Wabash advanced to the semifinals of the NCAC tournament for the fourth consecutive year. The second-seeded Little Giants led from start to finish over seventh seed Denison. Senior Wes Smith paced the hosts with 21 points on 10-for-20 shooting. Classmate Chase Haltom poured in 11 in the first half and finished with 17, Freshman Dimonde Hale of the Big Red posted a game-high 23 points (10-of-17) with 10 rebounds, for the first double-double of his career. Hale accounted for 13 of his team’s 17 first-half points, and had the squad’s first nine points of the contest. Denison finishes the season at 7-19.

Third-seeded Wittenberg upended sixth seed Hiram to advance past the quarterfinals for the first time in three seasons. The Tigers used a fast start, 53.2 shooting and a 14-8 edge in turnovers forced to top the Terriers, 85-63. Sophomore Clayton Black led Wittenberg in just 21 minutes of action with a career-high 17 points and a team-best eight rebounds. In all, four Tigers reached double figures in scoring as they improved to 20-6 overall. After Wittenberg roared out to a 23-6 lead to open the game, Hiram got within seven points before the half, but were never that close again. Junior Deon Milton had a team-high 12 points for the Terriers, all on three-pointers. Hiram ends the year at 12-14.

Ohio Wesleyan was the only team to upset a higher-seeded squad in the 2010 NCAC tournament quarterfinals. The Battling Bishops, seeded fifth, topped fourth-seeded Allegheny in Meadville, 73-59, on the strength of 61.4 percent shooting. An early 11-0 run lifted OWU to a 16-6 advantage and it never trailed again. The Gators got as close as seven, 64-57, with less than four minutes left, but the Battling Bishops put the game out of reach by scoring the next nine points, including four by sophomore Tim Brady. Brady finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-for-13 shooting, while classmate Pat Pellerite hit a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Senior George Raftis paced Allegheny with a double-double of his own with 16 points and 11 boards. The Gators end the season at 14-11.