NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament

Edited: Mar. 1, 2008

Quarterfinals:	Semifinals:	Championship:
Tuesday, Feb. 26	Friday, Feb. 29	Saturday, Mar. 1 at Wooster, 7:00 p.m.
#1 Wooster 104, #8 Oberlin 71 (boxscore)	hosted by Wooster
#6 Allegheny 64, #3 Wittenberg 63 (boxscore)		Ohio Wesleyan 89, Wabash 72 (boxscore)
#5 Wabash 86 at #4 Kenyon 73 (boxscore)	Ohio Wesleyan 79, Allegheny 63 (boxscore)
	Wabash 87, Wooster 63 (boxscore)
Wednesday, Feb. 27
#2 Ohio Wesleyan 84, #7 Hiram 66 (boxscore)

CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP
Second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (20-7) claimed its first NCAC men's basketball Tournament championship since 1988, and its fourth overall, with an 89-72 victory over Wabash (18-10). The Little Giants, who entered the Tourney as the fifth seed, jumped out to an early 11-7 lead, but the Battling Bishops eventually tied the game at 20 points apiece. The Bishops then went on a 14-5 run to end the first half with a 42-30 advantage and then jumped out to a 20-point lead early in the second stanza and never looked back. Senior Dustin Rudegeair hit 10-of-21 shots for a career- and game-high 29 points and scored OWU's first eight points of the second half. Over the three games of the Tournament, he totalled 54 points on 20-of-48 (.417) shooting from the floor, and was 11-for-17 (.647) from the free throw line, to earn Tournament MVP honors. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by junior Kyle Holliday, Wabash sophomore Aaron Brock and senior Earl Rooks, Allegheny sophomore Craig Devinney and Wooster senior James Cooper. In the championship, Rooks was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line to score a career-best 16 points with two assists and four rebounds. Brock added 19 points to his Tournament totals, finishing the three-game event with a tourney-best 69 points. The Little Giants 18-10 record is the most victories for a Wabash team since posting a 20-7 record in the 1999-2000 season - the last time the team played for the NCAC Tournament title.

As Tournament champions, Ohio Wesleyan earns the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament. The NCAA Division III playoff appearance is Ohio Wesleyan's first since 1988, when the Bishops went on to win the national championship, and is Ohio Wesleyan's second overall. The NCAA Division III tournament field will be announced on Monday.

SEMIFINAL RECAPS
Ohio Wesleyan (19-7) and Wabash (18-9) will face off in the championship game of the 2008 NCAC Men's Basketball Tournament after the Battling Bishops topped Allegheny (12-15), 79-63, and Wabash upset Wooster (23-4), 87-63. The championship tips off at Wooster on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan advances to the Tourney championship game for the second straight year and the seventh time overall. Junior Kyle Holliday led the Bishops with a game-high 23 points, going 9-for-12 from the field. Classmate Kyle Miller added a season-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting and contributed five steals, four coming in the first half. Senior Dustin Rudegeair led the Bishops with eight rebounds; Senior Jesse Jean grabbed seven boards and led the Bishops with four assists. Sophomores George Raftis and Craig Devinney led the Gators with 17 and 13 points, respectively, while Raftis totaled a game-high nine rebounds.

Fifth-seeded Wabash advances to the conference championship game for the second time in school history and the first since 2000. The Little Giants earned their first win over the Fighting Scots since 2002, and their first ever victory over the Scots in the NCAC Tournament. Sophomore Aaron Brock scored a career-high 29 points to lead four Little Giants in double figures. Freshman Wes Smith and senior Andrew Zimmer each had 12, while sophomore Chase Haltom finished with 11. Senior James Cooper, freshman Bryan Wickliffe, and senior Devin Fulk each tallied 14 points to lead the Scots. Wooster saw its streak of 11 straight NCAC Tournament championship appearances snapped at 11 - the Scots have played in each title game sinnce 1997. The loss marked Wooster’s first home loss in 21 games and the 24-point differential was its largest margin of defeat since falling 82-53 to eventual national champion Calvin in the 2000 NCAA Div. III Tournament. Also, it was the Scots’ worst home loss since Jan. 14, 1987, when Ohio Wesleyan defeated Wooster 110-77.

QUARTERFINAL RECAP (2/27)
Second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (18-7) defeated seventh-seeded Hiram, 84-66, to advance to the semifinals of the NCAC Tournament. The game, which had been postponed one day due to adverse weather conditions, remained close throughout the first half as the two teams exchanged leads eight times and tied seven times before Ohio Wesleyan pulled away for a 35-30 halftime lead. The Battling Bishops and Terriers kept thing tight through the second stanza until OWU extended their lead to double digits, 65-53, at the 7:43 mark - an advantage they would not relinquish. Senior Jesse Jean paced the Bishops with game-highs of 23 points and 19 rebounds. His career-high rebounds total was just one shy of the NCAC Tournament record. Senior Dustin Rudegeair followed with 17 points. Hiram was led by freshman Hassan Muhammed's 20 points on eight-of-15 shooting. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Sophomore Mike Staley was the only other Terrier in double figures with 16 points. Hiram (8-18) surpassed its season win total of a year ago, tallying eight wins this winter.

QUARTERFINAL RECAPS (2/26)
A pair of upsets and a postponement were the story on the opening day of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. Victories by sixth-seeded Allegheny and fifth-seeded Wabash show just how competitive NCAC basketball has been all season long. The Little Giants topped fourth-seeded Kenyon, 86-73, while the Gators edged third-seeded Wittenberg, 64-63, with a bucket in the last four seconds of the game. Earlier today, the Hiram at Ohio Wesleyan matchup was postponed one day due to weather. Tipoff will be Wednesday (Feb. 27) at 6:00 p.m.

NCAC champion Wooster (23-3), the top seed, defeated eighth-seeded Oberlin,104-71. The Fighting Scots got off to a fast start, scoring the game's first eight points. They steadily extended their lead to 51-32 at the half and then maintained at least a 15-point advantage through the rest of the game. With a pair of free throws with 4:26 remaining in the second half Senior James Cooper became just the second player in Wooster men’s basketball history, and the third in NCAC history, to score 2,000 career points. He joins the legendary Tom Dinger (2,370 points from 1967-71) in Scot history, and Ohio Wesleyan's Scott Tedder (2,501 points from 1984-88) and Oberlin’s Chip Winiarski (2,303 points from 1986-90) in the league record books. Cooper had 28 points for the game, 12 coming at the free throw line (12-for-15). Senior Devin Fulk nailed the 200th three-pointer of his career to join just four others in team history. He now has the minimum number needed for inclusion in the NCAA record book, and currently sits seventh in Div. III history with a three-point percentage of .490 (200-for-408). Oberlin (5-21), making its first Tourney appearance in five years, trailed 12-7 in the early going and then pulled to within 15 points to start the second half, but the Scots were able to pull away. The Yeomen had four players in double figures with junior Omari Hall leading the way with a career-high 22 points. Classmate Mike Loll added 13 points and five rebounds.

Allegheny (12-14), the sixth seed, snapped a four-game NCAC tournament losing streak, with its thrilling 65-63 victory over third-seeded Wittenberg (16-10). The Gators advance to the Tourney semifinal round for the first time since 2003, when they fell to Wooster in the championship game. Although Allegheny pushed its lead over the Tigers to 12 points on two occasions, the game remained close for the most part - the teams were tied at 63 apiece with 10 seconds left. Gator sophomore Charlie Jaicks hit the game-winning jumper with four seconds left on the clock. Sophomore Craig Devinney led four Gators in double-figure scoring with a game-high 15 points. Jaicks finished with 10. The loss was the first ever for Wittenberg in an NCAC Tournament quarterfinal game - snapping an 18-game streak of semifinal appearances. In fact, the loss was the Tigers' first in any conference tournament quarterfinal since 1986. Wittenberg was paced by 14 points each from junior Gregg Hill and senior Brandon Barabino, who also added team highs of nine rebounds and five assists.

Wabash (17-9), seeded in the fifth spot, upset fourth-seeded Kenyon (13-13), 86-73. The upset is the second straight in the quarterfinal round for the Little Giants, who defeated Allegheny last spring in the first round of the conference Tourney. Sophomore Aaron Brock's 21 points led four Wabash players scoring in double figures at Kenyon. Senior Andrew Zimmer added 18 points, along with 17 from classmate Gary Simkus and 13 from freshman Wes Smith in the victory. Smith also chipped in 13 boards for the double-double. Freshman Kodey Haddox led the Lords with 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a 7-of-10 showing from beyond the three-point arc. Junior Bryan Yelvington did his best to counter the play of the Wabash big men, as he scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Kenyon finishes off its 2007-08 campaign with a 13-13 record, its best mark since the 1994-95 campaign.

TOURNEY TALK:
* Wooster is the defending NCAC Tournament champion and leads the way with 10 men's tournament titles. Only half of those wins (1995, '99, '00, '03, '07) came as a #1 seed. The Fighting Scots entered both the 2005 and '06 tourneys as the top seed, and fell in the final round to Wittenberg both years. Wittenberg has six tourney titles. The Fighting Scots and Tigers have combined to win every tournament since the 1999 event. Allegheny and Ohio Wesleyan (3 and 4 titles, respectively) and Kenyon (1) round out the list of past men's tournament champions.

* Wooster has appeared in the finals 16 times, while Wittenberg has made 12 championship game appearances, followed by Allegheny (8), Ohio Wesleyan (7), Kenyon (3) and Wabash (2).

* Kenyon entered the field as the fourth seed. The ranking is the highest since they were the third seed in the 1994-95 event.

* Oberlin returned to the tourney field after failing to make the cut the past five seasons. The Yeomen have advanced past the quarterfinal round five times.

* Wabash made its ninth tournament appearance in as many years. The Little Giants joined the conference nine years ago (1999). Wabash advanced through the 2000 tournament, their first season in the NCAC, defeating both Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg before falling in the championship game to Wooster, 114-91.

* Hiram joined the NCAC in 1999, along with Wabash. The Terriers earned their second straight Tournament berth, their fifth overall. They entered the event as the seventh seed.

* Wooster leads all men's teams with an overall .763 winning percentage in NCAC Tournament games (45-14). Wittenberg follows at .735 (36-13). Allegheny has a 23-20 tourney record (.535). Ohio Wesleyan is 23-21 (.523); Wabash stands at 9-9 (.500).

* Last winter Wittenberg's Dane Borchers established a new tournament mark with 20 rebounds in a 57-52 loss to Ohio Wesleyan in the semifinals. Wooster's35-point margin of victory in the 2007 championship game was the largest in the title game of the NCAC Tournament’s 23-year history.

* How quarterfinal teams fared against each other during the regular season: Three of the top four seeds, #1 Wooster, #2 Ohio Wesleyan and #3 Wittenberg swept their first-round opponents during the regular season. The Battling Bishops and Tigers took two games from Hiram and Allegheny, respectively, while the Fighting Scots won their only contest against Oberlin. #4 Kenyon and #5 Wabash split a pair of games, with each team winning at home. The Lords topped the Little Giants, 67-66, in a thriller in Gambier on Dec. 1, while Wabash took a 58-49 decision in Crawfordsville on Feb. 2.

* How semifinal teams fared against each other during the regular season: Ohio Wesleyan swept Allegheny, by scores of 75-57 and 72-62. Wooster also swept heir opponent, narrowly edging Wabash 72-70 and winning 83-71.

* How championship teams fared against each other during the regular season: Ohio Wesleyan and Wabash split their regular seaosn series, with each team winning at home. The Little Giants claimed a 67-62 victory in Crawfordsville; The Battling Bishops won 86-57 in Delaware.