Ian Franks

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster turned in quite possibly its best performance of 2009-10 on Saturday night, as the 24th-ranked Fighting Scots rolled past Denison University 97-73 at Timken Gymnasium in the North Coast Athletic Conference foes' lone match-up of the regular season.

Wooster (15-4, 10-0 NCAC), which continues to hold a three-game lead in the league standings, established the tone right away by constructing a 15-3 lead just 5:37 into the action, capped by the first of Ian Franks' four 3-pointers on the evening.

After a timeout, Denison (4-15, 4-6 NCAC) cut the margin to seven twice – 15-8 and 18-11 – and it remained an 8-to-12-point game for almost 10 minutes until the Scots ended the half on a surge. Wooster had a late 9-2 run to extend its lead from 38-27 to 47-29, and the halftime score was 51-35.

The Scots started the second half by making 11-of-14 field goal attempts, including their first four, which added up to a 77-49 cushion at the 12:54 mark. The Big Red scored nine unanswered at that point, but that was as close as it got (77-58) the rest of the way.

Wooster set season highs for scoring and offensive field-goal percentage (.537; 36-for-67), including 12-of-30 3-pointers (.400). Also of note, the Scots' defense held the opposition under 40 percent from the floor (.390; 23-for-59) for the fourth time in five games and they outrebounded Denison by 16 overall (44-28).

Franks reached 30 points for the second time this year, hitting 30 exactly on 11-of-16 field goals (4-of-5 3-pointers) and 4-of-5 free throws, and he dished out a team-high five assists.

Wooster's leading scorer received plenty of support, as Nathan Balch and Bryan Wickliffe each tossed in 18 points, with Blach connecting on 3-of-6 3-pointers and Wickliffe 7-of-8 overall from the floor. Matt Fegan added 13 markers in the scorebook, hitting 3-of-4 3-pointers along the way.

Justin Hallowell matched a career high with 12 rebounds, his second such total in three games, and he also tallied four assists in the victory.

For the Big Red, Larry Farmer recorded a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards, and Josh Leuchtag provided a spark off the bench with 13 points.

On Wednesday night, the Scots will welcome one of the NCAC's current second-place teams in Allegheny College (10-8, 7-3 NCAC), to Timken Gym for a 7:30 p.m. tip.