Moore's remarkable coaching career concludes

WOOSTER — One of the most remarkable coaching careers in college basketball — regardless of division — came to a close Friday night.Grove City College (Pa.) topped The College of Wooster 67-62 in the first round of the 2020 NCAA Division III championships at Timken Gymnasium in Wooster.With the win, the Wolverines (21-8) authored the final chapter of Fighting Scots' (21-8) legend Steve Moore's career. Moore, a 1970 Monroeville graduate who led the Scots for 33 seasons, finished his phenomenal career with an 867-253 record in 39 seasons as a Div. III head coach, which included a 780-188 mark at Wooster. He's second all-time in Div. III wins and 12th in NCAA men's basketball victories (all divisions)."I guess it hasn't sunk in yet," Moore said after the loss. "I guess I have to have time to think about it beyond tonight."With 32.6 seconds remaining in Friday's game, senior Danyon Hempy knocked down both ends of a one-and-one that pulled Wooster within 65-62. However, the Scots couldn't get a steal on the Wolverines' ensuing possession, which forced sophomore Brandon Styers to foul Grove City's Justin Rice with 21.8 ticks to go. Rice, who was a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, upped Grove City's lead back to five.Wooster couldn't get a three-pointer to fall with about 14 seconds left, and likewise, a three-ball in the closing seconds didn't go down after Nate Peters gave Wooster a late break by missing the front end of a one-and-one with 10.4 seconds on the clock.The Scots never led in the second half, despite tying the game at 53 with 5:52 remaining.However, Wooster turned the ball over three straight times during crunch time, and that enabled Grove City to open a six-point lead at 59-53 with 3:04 to go. Rice sprung free from Wooster's defense during one of the turnovers and had an easy look at a fast-break layup, and Brown hit a layup in transition on the next possession.Hempy's 17 points led Wooster. He finished his standout career third in program history with 2,031 points.Friday's game extended Wooster's NCAA Div. III record to 18 consecutive tournament berths under Moore. The Scots also extended their streak of consecutive seasons of 20-plus wins under Moore to 24 straight seasons — which trails only current Div. 1, No. 1-ranked powerhouse, University of Kansas, for the longest active streak across any NCAA division.Also of note, Wooster won 19 North Coast Athletic Conference championships and made 27 NCAA tournament appearances in Moore's 33 seasons, which included three trips to the Final Four and the 2011 national championship game.Since 2000, Wooster is 522-113 (.822), the best winning percentage across all three divisions of college basketball.At Monroeville, Moore still holds the single-game scoring record when he had 45 points in a 96-64 win against Black River on Jan. 16, 1970. His 442 points in 20 games as a senior in the 1969-70 season is still the highest average (22.1) in a single-season by a Monroeville player — and the fifth-most overall points scored in a season.Moore scored 682 points in 40 career games for the Eagles, the fifth-best average (17.1) in program history. He ranks 15th all-time in career points at MHS.On Nov. 4, 2016, Monroeville High School named the gymnasium inside the Monroeville Athletic Complex as Steve Moore Court in his honor.