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Warhawk men's basketball team falls

WOOSTER, OHIO — The rally fell short this time.

UW-Whitewater, which had rallied to win its regional semifinal game Friday night, could not overcome a game-long deficit Saturday night and fell to College of Wooster, 87-78, in a NCAA Division III men’s regional final.

The Warhawks had rallied past Defiance on Friday, after trailing by 10 points with 13:35 to go and six with just two minutes to go.

On Saturday, the Warhawks trailed by 16 points with 3:48 to go, and managed to put a scare into the Scots (25-5). Whitewater cut the lead to four points twice in the final minute, but could not get any closer.

“We played really hard and had a great run down the stretch,” said Warhawk coach Pat Miller. “We just had too many stretches where our shot selection wasn’t very good.”

The Warhawks were only five of 23 from three-point range, and shot 43.3 percent (29 of 67) overall. Four Warhawks fouled out during the team’s comeback attempt.

The Scots’ Ian Franks was the main thorn in the side of the Warhawks. The 6-foot-4 guard, who averaged 17.2 points a game this season, scored 30 against Whitewater.

Franks made 10 of 16 field-goal attempts and nine of 10 free throws.

“Franks is a good player,” Miller said. “It was a tough matchup for us. We were supposed to provide help from different spots, but sometimes we laid back.”

Dupree Fletcher led the Warhawks with 20 points. He also had six rebounds and four assists.

D.J. Dantzler contributed 18 points and five rebounds, and Dustin Mitchell had 14 points and nine rebounds. Mike Bendall added 13 points and six rebounds.

The Warhawks finished 23-6. Miller praised the efforts of the three seniors—Mitchell, Fletcher and Bendall.

“It is disappointing,” Miller said of the loss. “This was a great group of players. We had some talented seniors. It’s disappointing.”

COLLEGE OF WOOSTER 87, UW-WHITEWATER 78

UW-Whitewater (78)—Negri 1-6 3-5 6; Mitchell 6-9 2-7 14; Fletcher 6-18 6-9 20; Bendall 6-11 1-3 13; Dantzler 8-16 1-1 18; Free 1-2 0-0 2; Vines 1-5 2-2 5. Totals: 29-67 15-27 78.

Wooster (87)—Johnson 4-6 6-7 15; Balch 2-6 10-12 15; Wickliffe 3-7 0-0 6; Franks 10-16 9-10 30; Hallowell 2-7 4-6 10; Fegan 1-4 2-2 5; Warnes 0-0 2-2 2; Clayton 1-2 2-4 4. Totals: 23-48 35-43 87.

Whitewater 34 44—78

Wooster 40 47—87

Three-point goals—Whitewater 5-23 (Fletcher 2-8, Negri 1-5, Dantzler 1-4, Vines 1-2, Bendall 0-3, Free 0-1), Wooster 6-16 (Hallowell 2-6, Johnson 1-3, Balch 1-2, Franks 1-2, Fegan 1-2, Clayton 0-1). Fouled out—Mitchell, Edmunds, Free, Vines, Wickliffe. Rebounds—Whitewater 37 (Mitchell 9), Wooster 37 (Balch 11). Assists—Whitewater 9 (Fletcher 4), Wooster 8 (Balch, Franks 2). Total fouls—Whitewater 28, Wooster 22.