LEXINGTON — The defending champions are still alive in the Ohio Cardinal Conference basketball title chase.
Wooster, which started the season late and slowly (1-6) after an extended football playoff run, continued to jumble the league standings on Tuesday night with a 57-45 win at Lexington.
The win, the Generals sixth in their last seven games, pushed last year’s conference champion to 6-5 in the OCC and 9-8 overall. The Minutemen, who entered the night with a share of the league lead, fell to 6-4 in the OCC and 12-7 overall.
Idle Ashland (11-6, 6-3) is in sole possession of the top spot — as of now. But with still another week or so in the race, the OCC champ could as many as five losses.
The fact five teams still have a chance at a share of the crown is exciting — and draining — to veteran Lexington coach Scott Hamilton.
“It’s a nice thing to have, but it’s also a stressful and pain-in-the-neck thing to have,” said Hamilton, whose team has lost five of its last seven.
“It’s exciting that every game matters so much in the league, every conference game, but it’s also a pain in the neck that every game matters so much,” he said.
WON AT THE LINE: Lexington, which lost by 16 at Wooster on Jan. 4, trailed just 46-41 with 3:03 left in the fourth quarter Tuesday.
But the Generals connected on 11 of 12 free throws, all by senior guard Jack Williams, for the remainder of the game and outscored the Minutemen 11-4 down the stretch.
As Hamilton looked over the stat sheet after the game, he shook his head. There was not one glaring area of deficiency for his team. Just not enough shining positives, save for an 18-point, 10-rebound effort by junior center Baden Forup.
Wooster led just 26-23 at the half, but outscored Lexington, 14-8, in the third quarter, including an 11-4 run during one stretch, to build a 40-27 edge at one point.
The Minutemen had an 34-31 edge in rebounding and committed just three more turnovers than the Generals, 14-11. Lexington held Wooster to just 40 percent shooting from the field (19-47), but the Minutemen hit just 34 percent (17-50).
“That was the message to the guys after the game. It’s just not one major thing. It’s a couple of little things. When we get down by five or six, we gotta come down and we have to execute. We have make sure we get that defensive board. We gotta get that 50/50 ball.
“We can’t let a four-point deficit become and 8-, 10- or 12-point lead. I thought we battled back tonight,” he said.
INJURY DOESN’T HELP: One of Lexington’s most consistent performers, senior forward Caden Eichler, was forced from the game with 3:42 left in the first quarter.
Eichler was battling for a loose ball and ended up on the floor with a cut above his right eye. Dr. Jay Guth, a Lexington assistant coach and surgeon, went to the locker room and stitched the cut, allowing the 6-3 senior to return for the second half.
Eichler ended up playing less than 20 of the 32 minutes, finishing with six points on three of 10 shooting while also pulling down six rebounds.
“I thought our guys battled pretty well in the first half without Caden,” Hamilton said. “To see him come back in the second half was good, but we could never really get him going. He comes up big with six rebounds for us, but just couldn’t get his shot to fall.
“It’s just one of those things. You just can’t have off nights in the OCC this year,” Hamilton said.
Forup was the only Lexington player in double figures. A.J. Young added seven off the bench.
Drew Dossi led Wooster with 17 points. Micah McKee had 12, Williams finished with 11 and Caleb Scott had 10.
UP NEXT: The road doesn’t get easier for Lexington, which plays at West Holmes (9-8, 6-4) in an OCC game on Friday and then hosts state-ranked Ottawa-Glandorf (16-2) on Saturday in a non-league game. The Minutemen end the regular season on Feb. 16 with a league game at Mount Vernon (9-10, 5-5).
Wooster hosts Madison (11-7, 4-6) in its final OCC game on Friday.
CURRENT OCC STANDINGS
Ashland 6-3/11-6
Lexington 6-4/12-7
West Holmes 6-4/9-8
Wooster 6-5/9-8
Mount Vernon 5-5/9-10
Madison 4-6/11-7
Mansfield Senior 2-8/4-13
