Doug Thorpe

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster, keyed by a career-high 24 points from Doug Thorpe, put forth one of its best offensive displays of 2012-13 as the No. 8 ranked Fighting Scots matched a season-low with five turnovers and shot more than 50 percent from the field for the fifth time while rolling past Allegheny College 92-68 in a North Coast Athletic Conference tilt inside Timken Gymnasium Wednesday night.

Wooster (13-2, 7-0 NCAC), which moved into sole possession of first-place in the conference standings after No. 9 Ohio Wesleyan University's 80-63 loss at Hiram College, traded baskets with Allegheny College (8-8, 2-5 NCAC) for much of the first half.

The Fighting Scots did gain a little separation during the last five minutes of the half, extending a two-point lead (30-28) to eight by halftime at 45-37. That stretch featured a dunk off of a transition offensive rebound by Alex LaLonde as well as five points from Evan Pannell.

Building from that momentum, Wooster started the second half strong as a 10-2 run allowed the hosts to go up by 16 (55-39). The Scots cruised from there, leading by 14-plus the rest of the way.

As a team, Wooster made 38-of-74 field goals for 51.4 percent, including an even 9-of-18 3-point shooting, and maybe even more impressive than the five turnovers, was a 43-23 rebounding advantage that included 20 on the offensive glass.

Thorpe, who made his last four field goals in the previous game, started 7-of-9 before cooling off late. Overall, his 24 points came on 9-of-14 shooting (4-of-6 3-pointers) and a couple of free throws.

Also for the Scots, Josh Claytor was active with 14 points and eight boards, Kenny DeBoer had 12 and seven, respectively, as well as three assists, and Jake Mays wound up one rebound short of a double-double, posting 10 points, nine rebounds, and two blocked shots.

For Allegheny, Josh Valentic hit 5-of-8 3-pointers as part of a 19-point effort and Chris Milon gave Wooster problems with 18 points on 8-of-10 field goals.

Despite Ohio Wesleyan's setback, there will still be a lot riding on Saturday's match-up in Delaware, Ohio, as the first- and second-place teams in the NCAC go head-to-head in a top-10 national clash, starting at 3 p.m.