Bryan Wickliffe

WOOSTER, Ohio — The College of Wooster closed the first half on a 14-0 run and opened the second by outscoring Ohio Northern University 14-6 for a 49-35 lead before holding off a late rally and securing a 70-64 non-conference win at Timken Gymnasium Tuesday night.

Trailing by 11 a couple of occasions early on at 23-12 and 25-14, Wooster (2-2) responded with its best stretch of the season. After first chipping the deficit down to 29-21, the Fighting Scots completely shut down Ohio Northern (1-3) over the final six-plus minutes of the half, forcing the Polar Bears into seven missed field-goal attempts and five turnovers, while Ian Franks accounted for 12 of the 14 points during that run.

Wooster expanded on a 35-29 halftime advantage, keyed by 3-pointers on three successive possessions, two by Justin Hallowell and the third from Nathan Balch. That made it 46-33 and Ohio Northern briefly stopped the run, only to see Franks convert an old-fashioned three-point play for the Scots' largest lead (14) with 15:24 remaining.

The margin then ranged from 6-to-12 points, as the Polar Bears would not go away. A Franks' lay-up pushed Wooster's cushion to 61-50 with just under 5:00 left when Ohio Northern's Ezra Bradshaw personally brought his squad back into it with eight consecutive points (61-58).

The Scots' Brandon Johnson would then make two key plays, first draining a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 64-58, and later, with the lead at four (68-64), he blocked a 3-point attempt during a chaotic sequence after the Polar Bears had stolen an in-bounds pass at the 17.1 mark. The block and ensuing rebound all but sealed the victory, as Nathan Balch added a couple of free throws for the six-point margin.

Franks produced his best game of the young season, scoring 22 points, including 9-of-14 field goals, while adding six rebounds and four assists. Hallowell knocked down 4-of-9 from beyond the arc as part of a 16-point effort.

Also noteworthy for Wooster, Bryan Wickliffe was solid again with nine points and a team-leading eight rebounds and fellow forward Josh Claytor contributed eight points and four steals.

Bradshaw matched Franks's output with 22 points and he added three assists to pace Ohio Northern.

Next up on the Scots' challenging schedule is a trip to No. 2 ranked John Carroll University (3-0) Sunday at 3 p.m.