Wooster Dismantles Hiram Behind Game-Opening 23-0 Run

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team steamrolled visiting Hiram College with a game-opening 23-0 run and never looked back during Saturday evening's 82-53 rout at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (6-1, 4-0 North Coast Athletic Conference), the last remaining undefeated team in conference play, nailed eight of its nine shots during the game-opening blitz, and assists were logged on seven of them. Senior Najee Hardaway's fast-break layup was the outlier in the assist department, but the Scots more than made up for it defensively with steals by first-year Jamir Billings and sophomore Elijah Meredith book-ending the fast-break bucket. Junior Turner Kurt kept finding the open Scot, first a cutting Hardaway, then an open Meredith beyond the arc, and lastly a cutting Brandon Styers for three of Wooster's seven assists during the run.

Styers was locked in during the opening run, canning three triples, and he had 13 points already at the 14:33 mark. Defensively, Meredith logged two early steals, Billings rejected a Hiram (2-7, 0-4 NCAC) shot, and sophomore Nick Everett swatted away Brodgie Gordon's try in the paint. Hiram's Oliver Clingain finally got the Terriers on the board with a three-pointer at the 13:17 mark.

Hiram had another scoring drought, this time a 4:09 one in the second half. Clingain's turnaround jumper trimmed Wooster's lead to 53-35 at the 12:40 mark, but the Terriers did not score again until Tyler McMillion snapped the bleeding at the charity stripe with 8:31 to go.

In between, Wooster scored 10 straight points, with Everett contributing half the total. Two of those points came when Billings faked out his own teammate, then dished the ball to the forward, who caught the pass in midair prior to his layup.

Wooster's reserves made their presence felt down the stretch. Sophomore Carter Warstler picked off a Spencer Willman pass, then scored a layup at the other end. Sophomore Sabe Doolittle knocked down a jumper, and later added a steal. Then, near the end, the Scots had a possession with three straight offensive boards.

Styers' season-high 24 points came on 8-of-13 shooting, which included a 4-for-6 line from beyond the arc. Everett's 11 points marked a new Wooster high for the sophomore, while Hardaway added 10. Kurt was high man in rebounding with eight boards and seven points, while Billings dished out six of Wooster's 18 assists.

Wooster shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57), logged assists on 18 field goals, and had 14 steals.

No Hiram played hit double digits in the scoring column, as Willman's nine led the way. Clingain had high honors in rebounding at seven as did Gordon in assists at four.

Hiram shot just 30.8 percent (16-of-52), was 8-of-25 from three-point range, and was outrebounded by Wooster 41-30.

Next, Wooster heads west after finals to Santa Cruz, California. There, the Scots are slated to play two games at Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the Golden State Warriors G League affiliate. Up first, is a 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT game against University of California, Santa Cruz on Saturday, December 18.

photo by Abbi Tarburton '22