Ben Blotner
Contributing Writer
The College of Wooster Fighting Scots needed to dig a little deeper for this win, but their winning streak continued with a 111-104 double-overtime victory at DePauw University on Saturday afternoon.
DePauw led for most of the game, but never pulled away, leaving Wooster an opening. Still, things looked good for the Tigers when they led 80-73 with 2:50 remaining in regulation.
Then Wooster came charging back. Points by Spencer Williams ’18, Reece Dupler ’19, and Dan Fanelly ’17 tied the game at 81. DePauw jumped back in the lead twice, thanks to six points by Luke Lattner ’17, before Fanelly’s layup with 13 seconds left evened up the scoreboard at 87.
The back-and-forth action continued in the first overtime, with Fanelly and Lattner continuing to shine. The teams ended up tied at 99, forcing a second overtime. With 1:07 remaining in double overtime, Williams sank a jump shot, giving Wooster a 106-104 lead. This was the final turn of events, as the Scots won by seven.
“The game was up and down all throughout, but our team really showed a lot of character and perseverance down the stretch, which gave us the chance to beat a team [playing] some of their best basketball of the season,” said Wooster’s Eric Bulic ’19.
Fanelly and Dupler each scored 25 points for the Scots, with Williams reaching 23. Milt Davis ’17 scored 13, while Danyon Hempy ’20 contributed 14 off the bench. Bulic had 10 rebounds and Dupler nine.
For DePauw, Lattner was their star with an incredible 43 points. Jack VandeMerkt ’18, Nate Jahn ’17, James Clarke ’18 and Ethan Jarrett ’20 also reached double figures.
Wooster came in red-hot with a six-game winning streak, but started slow in its first road game since Jan. 14. After taking an early 3-0 lead, the Scots allowed a 9-0 run by DePauw and fell behind 20-10. Davis’ layup sparked a 10-1 stretch that got Wooster back in the game to stay.
The Tigers outshot Wooster from three-point range, shooting 32 percent to Wooster’s 14.3 percent. However, the Scots dominated in the paint, outscoring DePauw 62-38. They also took advantage of the Tigers’ 11 turnovers, using them to score 17 points.
“Saturday was another tough NCAC game,” commented Dupler. “It’s never easy to win on the road, especially when you travel to play the Indiana teams. I thought we stuck together as a team and really gutted it out to get the win.”
Wooster has not had to gut it out much recently, winning its previous six games by an average of over 29 points. The Fighting Scots passed this test of mental fortitude against the Tigers, who fell below .500 for the season.
Wooster will try to stretch its win streak to eight on Feb. 1 at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Oh. DePauw visits Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. on Feb. 3, who are trying to snap a four-game skid.