One by one, Wooster's players embraced assistant coach Doug Cline, following the Scots' 101-68 victory Tuesday night.

WOOSTER, Ohio – Riding the wave of emotion from an unexpected appearance by its grieving assistant coach, Doug Cline, The College of Wooster jumped out on top of Denison University early and never let up en route to a 101-68 victory in a North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal game at Timken Gymnasium Tuesday night.

Wooster, which extends its NCAA Div. III-leading active streak of 20-win seasons to 13 (20-6), will host the NCAC Tournament semifinals and championship game this Friday and Saturday.

Rallying around Cline, who lost his three-year old son, Corey Cline, to a tragic accident Sunday, the Fighting Scots scored the first seven points of Tuesday's contest, including a 3-pointer by team captain Marty Bidwell (Middletown, Ohio / Bishop Fenwick) on the initial possession.

Denison (8-18) came back to pull within 10-8, only to see Wooster put up 11 unanswered points, capped by a 3-pointer from Dustin Geitgey (West Salem, Ohio / Northwestern) on his first shot of the night. Geitgey added two assists and two rebounds during his initial playing time, helping the Scots to a 23-13 lead at the midway point of the first half.

After the Big Red narrowed the margin to single digits again (23-16), Wooster added separate runs of 11-2 and 12-1, the latter closing out the half with the score at 49-25.

During the second, the Scots maintained a lead of 23-plus points throughout.

Overall, Wooster shot an even 50 percent from the floor (34-for-68), highlighted by 16-of-29 3-pointers (.552), and helped hold Denison under 40 percent (.397; 23-for-58). The Scots also controlled the glass with a 44-28 rebounding advantage.

Nathan Balch (Westerville, Ohio / Olentangy) recorded his second 20-point game, tallying 20 even to lead all players in scoring, including 5-of-7 3-point shooting.

Justin Hallowell (Worthington, Ohio / Thomas Worthington) made 4-of-5 from outside the arc as part of a 14-point effort. That gives him a single-season school record of 82 3-pointers made, passing James Cooper and current assistant coach Tom Port who both had 78 in the 2006-07 season.

Bidwell, Mike Evans (Pickerington, Ohio / Pickerington North), and Ian Franks (Greenwich, Ohio / South Central) chipped in 11 points apiece, with Franks dishing out a career-high eight assists as well. Additionally, Bryan Wickliffe (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) registered his third double-digit rebounding total over the last five games with 12.

Larry Farmer and Chris Luther each had 12 points in the losing effort. Farmer was solid all-around with eight rebounds and three blocked shots as well.

On Friday, Wooster will play Kenyon College (16-10) in the second of two semifinals, as they will be preceded by Allegheny College (12-14) and Wabash College (13-12) at 6 p.m. The two winners will play Saturday at 7 p.m., with a berth into the NCAA Div. III Tournament on the line.