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Notebook

Greg Chandler's
Great Lakes Notebook
Posted Jan. 26, 2000

In front of their biggest game of the season to date, the Fighting Scots of Wooster rose to the challenge Saturday against their archrival, Wittenberg University. The result: sole possession of first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Playing in front of a crowd of more than 2,700 fans in Timken Gymnasium, No. 10 Wooster dominated the game from start to finish in scoring an 81-63 victory over the No. 21 Tigers in a battle between two teams that entered the game unbeaten in NCAC play. It was Wooster's 24th consecutive victory at home.

Wittenberg entered the game as the nation's second-best team in terms of rebounding margin at plus-11.5, but it was Wooster that controlled the glass, outrebounding the Tigers by a whopping 52-30 margin.

Steve Thompson led Wooster (8-0 NCAC, 14-2 overall) with a career-high 23 points, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, while freshman Bryan Nelson capped off a huge week with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Chris Fillmore led Wittenberg (7-1, 13-3) with 20 points.

Earlier in the week, Wooster handled a vastly improved Hiram squad 81-65, as Nelson scored 26 points, hitting 12 of 13 from the field, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Nelson's point total against Hiram was the highest for a Wooster freshman in 24 years. Senior forward John Ellenwood went over the 1,000-point mark for his career in that win as well.

Wittenberg, meanwhile, handed Wabash an 82-79 loss, its second in a row. The Tigers had to overcome an early 12-2 hole and a seven-point halftime deficit to win. Ryan Taylor led four Wittenberg players in double figures with 20 points, while Josh Estelle, the nation's second-leading scorer at more than 25 points a contest, fired in 30 for Wabash.

Otterbein has suddenly taken control of the Ohio Athletic Conference race. The Cardinals, who haven't won the OAC regular-season title since 1991-92, scored a pair of important victories last week to take a game-and-a-half lead over second-place Ohio Northern.

On Wednesday, Otterbein had to come from behind in overtime to defeat Marietta, 84-81. The Cardinals led 68-54 with less than 11 minutes remaining in regulation time, but the Pioneers used a 17-3 run to get back in the game and force overtime. Marietta then took a 78-73 lead two minutes into overtime, but Otterbein scored the next seven points to take the lead for good. Pat Noles led the Cardinals with 22 points, while Jeff Gibbs added 16 points and 15 rebounds. OAC scoring leader Jesse DuPerow had another big night for Marietta with 27 points and 13 boards.

Otterbein followed the Marietta win with a hard-fought 77-73 win against Mount Union Saturday to improve to 7-2 in the OAC. Gibbs had another monster game, with 18 points and 17 rebounds.

Ohio Northern (5-3 OAC) fell out of a share for the conference lead on Wednesday, falling to Muskingum's 3-point assault in an 82-67 loss. Mike Moler came off the bench to fire in 25 points for the Muskies, including 5-for-7 from three-point land. Muskingum was 12-for-25 from long distance for the game, offsetting Mike Kluse's career-high 27 points for ONU.

After Ohio Northern, five teams are in a logjam at 5-4 -- Marietta, Muskingum, Heidelberg, John Carroll and Baldwin-Wallace. Heidelberg handed Marietta its third straight loss on Saturday, 87-73, as center Ryan Szepiela scored a career-high 26 points for the Student Princes.

Meanwhile, John Carroll knocked off Muskingum 65-49 and B-W pounded Capital 75-60. Three B-W players -- Jon Carroll, Shawn McCormick and Jason Woleben -- each had 20 points in the win against Capital, while McCormick had 13 rebounds and Woleben 11.

Calvin maintained its unbeaten record in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association with a pair of hard-fought wins. The No. 4 Knights survived a scare from Olivet on Wednesday, prevailing 75-72 for their 300th win at Calvin Fieldhouse. Calvin is 300-62 all-time on its home court. On Saturday, the Knights downed Albion 84-76, as Aaron Winkle scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures.

Since being blown out by 30 points in its conference opener by Calvin, Defiance has won five straight. The Yellowjackets stayed one game behind the Knights with wins against Adrian, 97-69, and Kalamazoo, 81-72. Defiance guard Gavin Sever was hot from long distance, going 8-for-12 from three-point range in scoring 40 points for the week, earning MIAA co-player of the week honors with Hope's Craig Veldman. Sever hit five treys in a 23-point effort against Kalamazoo.

Ohio Wesleyan's Chad Van Sickle almost single-handedly rallied his team for a win over Allegheny last week. Van Sickle hit two three-pointers as the Battling Bishops overcame an eight-point deficit with 1:18 left in regulation to force overtime, then hit the winning shot with four seconds left to give OWU a 77-76 win. Van Sickle finished with 27 points, a career-best.

Congratulations to Allegheny's Jake Delsandro, who went over the 1,000-point mark for his career Jan. 15 in the Gators' 81-80 win over Denison. It was Delsandro's two free throws in the final seconds that lifted Allegheny to the win. He is the 15th player in Gator history to reach 1,000 points for his career.

Women's basketball: Baldwin-Wallace has taken control of the OAC women's race. The Yellow Jackets defeated Capital for the second time this season Saturday, 78-70, to take a two-game lead over the Crusaders and virtually sew up the top seed for the conference tournament later this season.

B-W (9-0 OAC, 16-1 overall) jumped out to a 32-19 first-half lead and held off a comeback bid by Capital for the win. Jen Nance led the Yellow Jackets with 20 points, while forward Anjee Beard tied a Division III record by making her 18th consecutive field goal without a miss over the last three games. Beard finished with a dozen points.

Kendra Meyer led Capital (7-2, 14-3) with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

The MIAA continues to have a very exciting race, with Alma holding a narrow half-game lead over Calvin and Hope. The Lady Scots won three games last week to improve to 8-2 in the league, defeating Olivet 66-56, Albion 58-39 and St. Mary's (Ind.) 73-51. Alma guard Mary Barnhart had a fabulous game as floor general against Albion, dishing out 12 assists, most by any MIAA player this season.

Meanwhile, Calvin (7-2) fell out of a tie for first on Thursday as Kalamazoo stunned the Lady Knights 74-57. It was the Hornets' first win against Calvin in six years. Kalamazoo's defense harassed Calvin into 25 turnovers, 17 of them in the first half.

Calvin bounced back on Saturday to defeat Olivet 80-50 as Robyn Fennema scored 25 points, the fourth time this season she has scored 25 or more in a game.

Hope, meanwhile, won its only game of the week, clobbering Saint Mary's 87-54. Flying Dutch forward Kristin Koenigsknecht grabbed an MIAA season-high 18 rebounds to go along with 11 points as Hope improved to 7-2 in the league.

Defiance and Kalamazoo aren't out of the race, either. The Yellowjackets are 6-3 in league play, while Kalamazoo is 5-3.

In the NCAC, Denison seemed to be in control of the conference race a week ago, riding a seven-game winning streak. However, back-to-back losses last week have the Big Red scrambling to stay on top.

On Wednesday, Wittenberg handed Denison its first league loss, whipping the Big Red 71-54 in Springfield. Amy Schmehl led the Lady Tigers with 17 points, and Wittenberg outscored Denison 25-4 from the free-throw line. Then on Saturday, Earlham nipped the Big Red 56-55, as Shelly Holt scored 20 points and pulled down 10 boards for the Quakers.

Despite the losses, Denison (7-2, 12-5), held a half-game lead over league favorite Ohio Wesleyan (6-2, 13-2) and Kenyon (6-2, 11-4), with Wittenberg (5-2, 9-6) a game back. Ohio Wesleyan got back in the league hunt with wins over Earlham, 53-46 and Allegheny, 67-60. Katy Sturtz continued her strong play, extending her streak of consecutive double-doubles to six with 18 points and 15 rebounds against Earlham and 13 points and 12 boards against Allegheny, while Cleveland State transfer Megan Coughlin, one of three Division I transfers on the OWU roster, scored 16 points against Allegheny.

Kenyon's Stephany Dunmyer is a major reason why the Ladies are in the hunt for the top spot in the NCAC. She leads the conference in scoring at 16.1 points per game.

Wooster freshman Nara DeJesus had a big week, scoring 54 points and pulling down 35 rebounds in helping the Lady Scots win two of three contests. DeJesus has been an impact player for Wooster in her first season, leading the NCAC in rebounding at 10.3 boards a contest.

In the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Franklin holds a one-game lead over Hanover, on the strength of a 72-69 road win against Hanover on Jan. 12. Center Anne Heile has been the key for the Grizzlies (5-0, 10-7), averaging 14.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and two blocked shots per game. She also leads the HCAC in field goal shooting at 59%.

Meanwhile, Franklin (4-1, 13-4) boasts both the leading scorer and leading rebounder in the conference. Jennifer Skaggs leads the HCAC in scoring at 19.5 points a game, while Andrea Spurgeon is clearing the boards at a rate of 11.3 rebounds a contest.

Closing notes: OAC crosstown rivals Baldwin-Wallace and John Carroll will square off Saturday as part of a women's triple-header at Cleveland's Gund Arena. B-W and JCU will meet in the final game of the Women's College Basketball Classic at 5 p.m. The game will be preceded by two Division I contests -- Kent against Toledo at noon and traditional power Tennessee against North Carolina State at 2:30 p.m. ... Congratulations to Muskingum coach Donna Newberry, who posted her 400th career victory with a 61-52 defeat of John Carroll on Saturday. Newberry, who also has 477 coaching victories in softball at Muskingum, becomes one of the few coaches to collect 400 victories in more than one sport.

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