Wooster Overcomes Slow Start to Defeat Oberlin 70-58

WOOSTER, Ohio – After scoring just three points through the first 10 minutes, No. 15 ranked College of Wooster grinded out a 70-58 win over North Coast Athletic Conference foe Oberlin College Saturday night at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (11-2, 2-2 NCAC) started slowly, accounting for points on only two of its opening 13 offensive possessions, but its defense kept the margin close as it was 12-3 midway through the half.

During the second 10 minutes, the Fighting Scots just about reversed their offensive efficiency as they scored on 13 of 16 possessions. Oberlin (5-8, 0-4 NCAC), though, also improved its production and was ahead 31-29 at halftime.

The Yeomen continued to hold the advantage the first seven minutes until Josh Claytor backed his defender down and converted a short jumper for Wooster's first lead of 40-39. The teams would then exchange the lead three times before the Scots' Evan Pannell scored five unanswered points, 2-of-4 free throws sandwiched around one of his four 3-pointers on the night.

That made it 47-43, and shortly after, Wooster would add an 11-2 run, including four more points from Pannell, to push the margin to double figures for the first time at 58-47. The Scots closed it out from there, ahead by at least seven the rest of the way.

Statistically, the two teams shot nearly identical percentages. The difference was Wooster's ability to get to the free throw line, where it struggled at times, but 21-of-34 (.618) was just enough for the win.

Josh Claytor and Pannell excelled individually. Claytor produced career highs in points (22), rebounds (10), and steals (6), while Pannell buried all four 3-pointers he took as part of a 16-point night, the first double-digit performance of the freshman's career.

Also of note, Xavier Brown contributed 18 points.

Emmanuel Lewis provided a spark for Oberlin with 13 points and seven rebounds. That boosted his season averages to 4.7 and 2.8, respectively.

Next, the Scots complete their five-game homestand against upstart Hiram College (9-4, 2-2 NCAC) on Wednesday at 8 p.m.