Scots go to battle for NCAC title

After slumping in the middle of the season, the menís basketball team has found their rhythm from the outside. The† No. 19 Scotsí aerial assault continued last Tuesday, as the Scots declared war on the Kenyon College perimeter defense ó dropping bombs from the outside to coast to a 73-59 victory over the Lords. The Scots will need to maintain this aggressive instinct in this weekendís NCAC Tournament as they attempt to lock up their eighth straight NCAA Tournament bid.

Kenyon College (3-13, 6-19) entered Tuesdayís NCAC quarterfinal as the No. 8 seed. While the Lords nearly pulled an upset of the Scots on their home floor in early December,† Kenyon had since lost 15 of their last 18 and were expected to be a slight speed bump on the Scotsí trip to host the NCAC semifinals. The Lords, however, missed the memo.

Despite the Scotsí hot perimeter shooting, Kenyon hung in the game for much of the first half. While the Scots continued to knock down threes, the inside play of forward Dave Knapke kept the game close. With just under five minutes remaining, the Lords cut the Scotsí lead to a just a bucket, 31-29. After calling a timeout, the Scots used a 10-3 run to go into halftime ahead 41-32.

After halftime, the Scotsí post defense tightened up and challenged Knapke inside. As Knapke struggled, so did Kenyonís offense ó hitting just 8-of-25 from the field in the second half. The Scots maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half to sew up a drama-free victory.

The biggest factor for the Scots was their perimeter shooting. The Scots knocked down 13-of-23 from behind the arc. In the last three games, the Scots have now hit 35-of-69 from downtown ó a staggering 51 percent.

Guard Ian Franks í11 led all scorers with 25 points while also grabbing eight rebounds. Guard Nathan Balch í11 added 13 points and guard Matt Fegan í12 chipped in 12 points off the bench. Altogether, the trio was 10-of-14 behind the arc.

While Kenyon held its own inside, Wooster still won the battle on the glass ó pulling down 34 rebounds to the Lordsí 28. Bryan Wickliffe í11 led the Scots with nine rebounds. While Wickliffe had posted four double-doubles in his last six games, the 6-5 forward was held to six points against Kenyon. Much of Wickliffeís energy was spent on the defensive end guarding Knapke, where he performed admirably. While Knapke did score 15 points, he was held to just 5-of-14 shooting from the floor.

With the win, the Scots will now turn their attention to the semi-final and championship rounds of the NCAC Tournament, which they will host for the sixth consecutive year. The Scots will host No. 5 seeded Ohio Wesleyan University, which punched its ticket to the Timken Gymnasium with a 73-59 victory Tuesday over Allegheny College.

The Battling Bishops will be making their second trip to Wooster in less than a week and a half. In their last meeting with the Bishops on Feb. 17, the Scots pulled away with dead-on outside shooting. The Scots hit 11-of-15 from behind the arc to go up 57-41 at halftime, eventually cruising 94-78. Mike Evans í12 provided a big spark off the bench, hitting all five shots from downtown for 15 first-half points.

Wing player Tim Brady has emerged as the Bishopsí leading scorer. Brady poured in 27 points on Feb. 17, and scored 27 in the Bishopsí quarterfinal win over Allegheny. The Scotsí number one objective on defense will be to limit Brady offensively.

The Bishops are one of the few teams that can match the Scotsí size and depth inside. The Bishops have three solid post players inside with Marshall Morris, Pat Pellerite and Brent Pleiman. The Scots will need contributions from their four-man post rotation of Wickliffe, Josh Claytor í13, Jake Mays í13 and Justin Hallowell í12.

The Scots are expected to receive a big lift with Hallowellís return. After missing four straight games with an ankle injury, Hallowell is expected to return to the court for the first time since Feb. 10 in a win over Hiram College. This season, Hallowell has not knocked down shots from long range with the frequency that he did as a first-year ó his three-point field goal percentage has dropped to 35 percent after hitting 51 percent last season. Hallowell, however, remains a constant threat from behind the arc that teams have to account for. His presence on the perimeter keeps opposing defenses honest. In the loss to Wittenberg University two weeks ago, the Tigersí defense collapsed on Franks and Balch each time the two drove to the paint without the threat of Hallowell on the outside. The sophomoreís return will be a welcome addition for the entire team.

The early semi-final game will feature No. 2 seeded Wabash College and No. 3 seeded Wittenberg University. Wittenberg is the only NCAC team to beat the Scots this season. After Wittenbergís big win over the Scots, the Tigers promptly blew an 11-point lead at home to the Little Giants and lost 72-69.

The Giants swept the season series over the Tigers. The Giants will be led by athletic swingman Wes Smith, who scored 21 points in the Giantsí 73-54 quarterfinal victory over No. 7 seeded Denison University.

The Tigers, meanwhile, steamrolled their way to the next round of the NCAC Tournament with an 85-62 win over No. 6 seeded Hiram College. Wittenberg will have to hope that the third time is the charm against the Giants. The Tigers will rely on hot perimeter shooting from Chris Sullivan and Josh McKee.

Wittenberg, surprisingly, will be making its first trip to the NCAC semi-final round in three years. The Tigers have been upset in the quarterfinal round each of the past two seasons. In the 2007 NCAC Tournament, the Tigers reached the semis but fell to Ohio Wesleyan University 57-52. The Tigers and Scots last met in the NCAC Tournament in the 2006 NCAC Championship, where the Tigers escaped with a 61-59 win on the Scotsí home floor.

If the Scots beat the Bishops, it will set up an intriguing NCAC finals, regardless of whether Wabash or Wittenberg wins the other semi-final game. If Wabash wins, it will set up a rematch of the 2009 NCAC Championship, where the Scots won 84-72 with a 34-point explosion from Hallowell. The two teams also met in the 2008 NCAC Tournament, when Wabash stunned the Scots 87-63 in the semi-final round.

If the Tigers win, there are enough subplots to fill a 60 Minutes segment. The Scots would be looking to avenge their humbling loss two weeks ago to the Tigers. Wittenberg, meanwhile, would be looking to clinch their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2006, when they reached the national championship. The game would be a must-win for the Scots. Despite a 21-6 record and challenging schedule, the Scots are not assured of at an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They need to win the tournament to ensure that their season continued next weekend in the NCAA Tournament.

While the Red Cross-sponsored Blood Battle may have technically ended two weeks ago, all four semi-final teams will be out for blood and fighting for their post-season lives this weekend. A war has officially been declared.