Bryan Wickliffe

WOOSTER, Ohio – Behind a hot-shooting first half and an overall balanced effort, The College of Wooster produced an 85-72 win against visiting Allegheny College in North Coast Athletic Conference action Wednesday night at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster, which moved up three spots to No. 21 in this week's D3hoops.com top-25, maintained its perfect NCAC record at 11-0, while Allegheny, which entered the evening in a tie for second-place, slipped into a tie for third at 7-4.

After the teams combined to miss their first three shots, both offenses were efficient for a long stretch as the score stood at 19-16 less than eight minutes into the action, with Wooster ahead. Shortly thereafter, the Fighting Scots strung together a 14-2 run, turning a 22-18 advantage into a 16-point cushion (36-20). Nathan Balch scored nine consecutive points for Wooster during that stretch.

The Scots continued to lead by a 10-to-16-point margin the rest of the half, including 46-33 at the break. Wooster made 7-of-13 3-pointers (.538) during the opening stanza.

The Gators accounted for the first two baskets of the second half to pull within single digits (46-37), but the Scots scored five of the next six and kept the lead in double figures for much of the second half.

Allegheny wouldn't go away, though, at one point chipping a 15-point deficit (73-58) to seven twice, including 75-68 with 1:55 remaining. The Scots responded with solid free throw shooting (6-for-7) as well as converting a couple of lay-ups off of breakaways through the Gators' press to improve to 16-4 overall.

For the game, Wooster made over 50 percent of its shots from the floor (.509; 28-for-55) and wound up at 45.5 percent from the arc (10-for-22), while Allegheny was at 42.2 percent on its field goals (27-for-64). The Scots also held a decisive edge on the glass with 39 rebounds to 30.

Individually, Bryan Wickliffe was very active for Wooster, tallying 19 points and 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. His 14 boards were one short of a career high. Ian Franks matched Wickliffe in the scoring column with his 19, including 9-of-9 free throws, and he also matched a career high with eight assists.

Balch scored 16-plus points for the third game in a row, this time reaching 17 to go with a season-high seven rebounds, and Matt Fegan contributed 11 off the bench, keyed by 3-of-5 3-point shooting.

The Gators' George Raftis led all players in the scoring department with 20 and teammate Charlie Jaicks also had a productive night with 18 points.

Next, the Scots will travel to second-place Wabash College (13-6, 8-3 NCAC) for a 2 p.m. tip-off on Super Bowl Sunday.