Ohio Wesleyan Erases 14-Point First-Half Deficit in 70-67 Victory
BOX | GAME NOTES
Memphis, Tenn., November 25, 2011 – Ohio Wesleyan University erased a 14-point first half deficit en route to a 70-67 victory over the Washington University in St. Louis men’s basketball team on Friday night in the opening game of the Rhodes College Thanksgiving Classic in Memphis, Tenn.
Washington University, which dropped its second-straight game and now sits at 2-2, takes on Principia College in the consolation championship at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Principia has a 0-3 overall record and dropped a 77-43 decision to host Rhodes College on Friday.
Senior Dylan Richter led all scorers with 19 points, 16 of which that came in the first half. Freshman Brayden Teuscher scored 11 of his career-high 17 points in the first half, and senior Alex Toth added a season-best 10 points. Washington U. shot 36.2 percent (21-58) in the loss, and was limited to five second-half field goals. The Bears hit 9-of-20 from three-point range, after entering the contest shooting just 21.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Washington U. missed its first five shots of the contest, but a jumper by Toth at the 15:58 mark trimmed the Ohio Wesleyan lead to 5-4. Toth’s jumper began a stretch where the Bears connected on 11-of-12 from the field as Washington U. built a commanding 28-14 lead with 9:03 remaining in the first half.
Teuscher nailed back-to-back treys to give WUSTL its largest lead of the game at 36-22 under seven to play. After missing its first two shots of the game from beyond the arc, Washington U. nailed five-straight, including three from Teuscher. A three-pointer by Richter extended the lead to 39-25, and the Bears held onto a 44-33 lead at halftime.
Washington U.’s bench was active in the first half, outscoring OWU 19-9, with 12 Bears seeing the court. The Bears shot 53.3 percent (16-30) from the field in the opening half, and hit 8-of-12 from three-point range.
Ohio Wesleyan scored the first six points of the second half to trim the advantage to 44-39. Washington U. continued to hold onto a slim lead, but a three-pointer by Eric Easley with 7:50 left gave OWU a 53-55 lead.
With the score tied at 67-67, sophomore Tim Cooney fouled Vaughn Spaulding with 55 seconds remaining in the contest. Spaulding hit 1-of-2 free-throws to put the Battling Bishops up one. The Bears had a chance to take the lead on the ensuing possession, but junior Ben Hoener’s jumper was off the mark.
Tim Brady sank free-throws with three seconds left to extend the lead to 70-67, and then Richter’s three-pointer at the buzzer was short as Ohio Wesleyan held on for the victory.
Brady (18 points), Spalding (14 points) Reuel Rogers (12 points) each scored in double figures for Ohio Wesleyan, which won its fourth-straight game and improved it overall record to 4-1. The Battling Bishops had a 14-7 advantage in second-chance points and hit 18-of-22 from the foul line.
Bear Notebook: Ohio Wesleyan and Washington U. met for just the third time in school history, with OWU owning a 2-1 series advantage … The Bears outrebounded its fourth-straight opponent … Washington U. has won 70 of its last 76 games when leading at halftime.