Alex LaLonde

Spencer Williams

The College of Wooster scored a season-high 91 points and withstood a strong offensive performance by host Kenyon College to prevail 91-78 in a North Coast Athletic Conference affair Wednesday night at Tomsich Arena in Gambier, Ohio.

Wooster (8-4, 4-1 NCAC), which owned a narrow 37-34 halftime lead, never trailed during the second half, but Kenyon (4-8, 1-4 NCAC) kept it close until the final minutes.

The key run came when the Fighting Scots stretched a 53-50 advantage around the 10-minute mark to 64-52. Right after the Lords made it a single-possession game for the first time since the early stages of the half, Spencer Williams tossed in a jump shot and a 3-pointer, then Reece Dupler and Alex LaLonde followed with matching 3-pointers, all coming on four-straight Wooster offensive series.

Wooster was unable to maintain its double-digit lead for long, as Kenyon chipped away and eventually pulled within 73-68 as the clock ticked under four minutes.

Next, the teams exchanged a series of free throws, with the Scots making 8-of-8, and Williams delivered his fourth 3-pointer of the game to push the score to 84-72, just about sealing the outcome.

During the closely-contested first half, neither team led by more than six points.

Wooster may have won the game with its rebounding, as the visitors turned 19 offensive boards into 25 second-chance points, compared to five for the Lords.

Other statistics of note included a combined 70 free throw attempts. They were just about evenly split, with the Scots hitting on 27-of-34 (.794) and Kenyon 24-of-36 (.667).

The Lords were above 50 percent field-goal shooting for most of the night, finishing 23-of-49 (.469), including 8-of-15 from 3-point range (.533), while Wooster's rate was .415 overall (27-of-65).

Williams's 3-point shooting fueled a 20-point night – the second-highest of the sophomore's career – and he added four assists and three steals, while another season-best was turned in by LaLonde, who tallied 18 points, plus five rebounds, four steals, and two blocked shots.

Also in double figures was Josh Kipfer with 13 points to go with a game-high nine caroms, missing a double-double by a single rebound for the second consecutive outing.

Tim Connolly of Kenyon paced all players in the scoring department with 26 points.

The Scots will be on the road again Saturday, as they play at Oberlin College (6-5, 2-3 NCAC).