Wooster Overcomes Williams in NCAA Men's Basketball Semifinals, 73-71

Courtesy Old Dominion Athletic Conference

SALEM, Va. – The College of Wooster outscored Williams College 45-29 in the final 20 minutes to erase a 14-point halftime deficit on the way to a 73-71 victory in the first semifinal of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The Fighting Scots (31-2) move on to face the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), a 59-57 winner over Middlebury, in the 2011 national championship game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in the Salem Civic Center. 

Williams ends its campaign with a 29-3 record, having reached the national semifinals each of the past two seasons.

Wooster's Nathan Balch had a couple of big moments in the final minutes of the contest, including a jumper to give the Scots their first lead at 65-64 with 3:35 to play. His biggest contribution came 1:32 later when he buried a three-pointer from the top of the arc to push Wooster out to a 70-67 lead.

Bryan Wickliffe made a pair from the stripe and Balch converted the back end of two to put Wooster up 73-71 with 0:25 remaining. Williams got off a good look at the three-pointer by James Wang that missed the mark, but Williams retained possession. With 0:02 on the clock, Taylor Epley received an in-bounds pass under the hoop and put a layup on the rim, but saw it fall off as time expired.

After shooting 65.2-percent in the first half, Williams saw its shooting cool and the turnovers multiply, resulting in a 10 second-half miscues on the way to 16 for the game. Wooster, which only coughed up possession five times and recorded 12 offensive rebounds, used the extra offensive trips to take 19 more shots than the Ephs. The Scots enjoyed a 25-5 points-off-turnovers advantage, as well as a 13-3 edge in second chance points.

Wooster's Ian Franks led all players with game-highs of 24 points and nine rebounds before fouling out in the final minutes. He also dished out four assists. Justin Hallowell went 7-of-13 from the field on the way to 18 points with eight boards. Wickliffe used a 7-of-8 showing from the foul line to register 14 points, and Balch finished with 13 markers and four rebounds.

Nate Robertson led four Ephs in double figures with 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He also canned all nine of his attempts from the foul line. James Wang went 4-of-4 from the stripe on the way to 14 points and six rebounds. Troy Whittington chipped in 12 points and eight boards. James Klemm hit 3-of-7 from beyond the arc towards 11 points.