No. 7 Ohio Northern scored 11 of the final 14 points and won a see-saw battle at No. 1 Wooster, 91-84.
The Polar Bears (9-1) and Scots (9-2) tied 18 times and saw the lead change hands 24 times in an epic battle in the first round of the E.W. "Mose" Hole classic. Ohio Northern will face UW-La Crosse, which handled Calvin easily in the opener, 87-77.
Kyle Gehle scored 24 points and Bart Hostetler came off the bench to add a career-high 23 in the victory. Ohio Northern hit 27 of 32 free throws, including 20 of 24 in the second half. For the Scots, Tim Vandervaart and James Cooper led the scoring ledger with 24 and 18, respectively. Vandervaart posted a double-double, adding a game-high 10 rebounds, however, Ohio Northern held a 43-29 advantage overall.
Ohio Northern will play UW-La Crosse on Saturday night for the tournament championship at 7:30 p.m. on D3hoopsNet.
Mary Hardin-Baylor edged No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan 63-62, holding on after leading by 13 late in the second half. More men's scores.
In women's action, Liz Bondi and Cassie Pruzin each scored 16 points as No. 5 DePauw beat No. 21 Medaille 69-59. The Tigers will play Point Loma Nazarene, a ranked NAIA team which handed No. 14 Simpson its first loss of the season.
Trinity (Texas) saw its seven-game winning streak snapped as UW-Eau Claire won the Tigers' tournament, 69-56. St. Lawrence improved to 8-1 thanks to an 11-0 run against Delaware Valley. More women's scores.
No. 11 Mississippi College dealt the No. 13 Johns Hopkins men their first loss of the season thanks to 18 points from Marcus Evans. Senior guard Jimmy Curran scored a game-high 21 as Lebanon Valley won for the seventh consecutive time, winning at Embry-Riddle, ranked No. 6 in NAIA Division II.