Wooster’s Defense, Free Throw Shooting Headline Win Over Anderson (Ind.)

WOOSTER, Ohio – One day after an up-tempo 91-67 victory, No. 9 ranked College of Wooster grinded out a 70-54 win against Anderson (Ind.) University Saturday night to finish 2-0 in the 18th annual Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic, held at Timken Gymnasium.

Also winning both games over the weekend was Ohio Wesleyan University, which took down Defiance College 82-78 in overtime earlier Saturday evening, as the North Coast Athletic Conference went 4-0 versus the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference during the event.

Wooster (2-0) never trailed during the second half Saturday, but it was a one-possession game under the eight-minute mark. Then, Ryan Snyder answered an Anderson (1-2) bucket with a 3-pointer – his lone field goal of the game – that gave the Fighting Scots a 46-40 lead. After a defensive stop, Matt Fegan drained a 3-pointer, and following a Josh Claytor steal, Xavier Brown hit a jumper with the shot clock winding down, all of which added up to an 11-point cushion (51-40).

The Ravens cut the margin back down to seven a couple of minutes later (53-46), only to see Wooster seal the outcome with 10 unanswered points, seven coming from Brown.

The Scots made a statement early with their defense, as they held Anderson without a point until almost six minutes had elapsed while building a 10-0 bulge.

The Ravens, though, outplayed Wooster during the second part of the opening half, constructing a pair of one-point leads at 20-19 and 22-21. The Scots finished the half strong and were ahead 28-24 at the break.

For the game, Wooster's defense held Anderson to around 30 percent from the field (.315; 17-for-54). The Scots shot 40.8 percent on field goals (20-for-49) and their proficiency at the free throw line allowed them to pull away. In fact, Wooster's 21-of-22 free throws is believed to be the highest percentage (.955) for a single game in team history with a minimum of 20 made.

A pair of Scot guards reached the 20-point mark with Brown scoring 22 and Fegan, keyed by a 6-of-11 night from 3-point range, tallying 20. That was a career high for the senior.

Brown and Claytor shared team rebounding honors with seven apiece, as they helped Wooster to a slight plus-three edge in that category (37-34), and Justin Hallowell and Justin Warnes each distributed three assists.

For the Ravens, Brock Morrison had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead his squad.

Brown, Fegan, and Morrison were all voted to the all-tournament team, while Warnes was chosen as the defensive MVP.

Tournament MVP honors went to Ohio Wesleyan's Tim Brady, who had a pair of 20-point nights, including 26 Saturday. Also for the Battling Bishops, Andy Winters was all-tourney after scoring 18 back-to-back games and totaling 11 assists and seven steals.

Logan Wolfrum of Defiance took up the final spot on the all-tournament team after nailing a 3-pointer from the left wing at the buzzer to send Saturday's first game into overtime. He scored 23 points in the eventual loss.

The Scots will not return to action until after Thanksgiving when they'll face a road test at Wilmington (Ohio) College (1-2) on Sunday, Nov. 27, at 5 p.m.