Shenandoah (8-5) trailed by just two and had the ball against the likely No. 1 team in the nation when the new D3hoops.com rankings come out on Monday afternoon, but senior Chris Rhone missed his jumper at the 4:51 mark and Wooster's Tim Vandervaart pulled down the all important rebound.
The Scots (13-0) then made six of their next seven shots, including two three-pointers, to lead 62-56 with 2:27 remaining. SU would cut this deficit to three by the 29 second mark, but could not come all the way back as Wooster hit three of its final four free throws.
The two teams were tied six times and traded the lead on eight other occasions in the first half before the Scots went on a 13-1 run over the final 4:20 to take a commanding 35-25 halftime advantage. Shenandoah gradually cut into this lead as the second half started, but got no closer than the two point deficit at the 5:28 and 3:40 marks.
Senior Kenny Purnell led all scorers with 23 points for the Hornets while Rhone added 17 and Onyie Onunaku 11 with 12 rebounds.
Tom Port had 17 and Kyle Witucky and Andy Van Horn 11 each for Wooster.
www.su.edu/athletics/mb/200405/010805.htm"> Box Score/Play by Play
Shenandoah returns to action on Wednesday in its USA South Conference opener against Christopher Newport.
Newspaper Box Score Shenandoah (Va.) vs College of Wooster (Ohio) 1/8/05 2:00 at Daytona Beach, Fla. (ICI Center) At Daytona Beach, Fla. (ICI Center) COLLEGE OF WOOSTER (OHIO) 69, SHENANDOAH (VA.) 63 SHENANDOAH (VA.) (8-5 NCAA DIII) PURNELL, Kenneth 8-18 4-5 23; RHONE, Chris 5-20 6-8 17; ONUNAKU, Onyie 4-13 3-5 11; JENKINS, Chris 3-6 0-0 6; JOHNS, Steven 1-2 0-0 2; LAWRENCE, Jeremiah 1-7 0-0 2; MILLER, Patrick 1-3 0-1 2; HALE, Jared 0-5 0-0 0; SULLIVAN, Mike 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-74 13-19 63. COLLEGE OF WOOSTER (OHIO) (13-0 #2 NCAADIII) Tom Port 6-11 2-4 17; Andy Van Horn 4-4 2-2 11; Kyle Witucky 3-5 2-3 11; James Cooper 3-9 3-6 9; Justin Bradley 2-3 1-2 5; Matt Schlingman 1-5 3-4 5; Devin Fulk 2-3 0-0 5; Tim Vandervaart 2-6 0-0 4; Blake Mealer 1-5 0-0 2; Ryan Ridder 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 13-21 69. Shenandoah (Va.).............. 25 38 - 63 College of Wooster (Ohio)..... 35 34 - 69 3-point goals-Shenandoah (Va.) 4-14 (PURNELL, Kenneth 3-6; RHONE, Chris 1-5; HALE, Jared 0-2; ONUNAKU, Onyie 0-1), College of Wooster (Ohio) 8-19 (Kyle Witucky 3-4; Tom Port 3-5; Devin Fulk 1-2; Andy Van Horn 1-1; Blake Mealer 0-4; Ryan Ridder 0-1; James Cooper 0-2). Fouled out--Shenandoah (Va.)-JENKINS, Chris, College of Wooster (Ohio)-None. Rebounds-Shenandoah (Va.) 43 (ONUNAKU, Onyie 12), College of Wooster (Ohio) 44 (Tim Vandervaart 10). Assists-Shenandoah (Va.) 9 (ONUNAKU, Onyie 4), College of Wooster (Ohio) 14 (Kyle Witucky 4). Total fouls-Shenandoah (Va.) 18, College of Wooster (Ohio) 20. A-123