Billings Passes, Steals Way to NCAC Honor

First-year Jamir Billings welcomed himself to one of small college basketball's greatest rivalries with a record-filled evening, and The College of Wooster men's basketball team's point guard earned North Coast Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week honors for the second time, as announced by the league office on Monday afternoon.

Billings matched Wooster's single-game record with seven steals during the Scots' thrilling 83-80 win over archrival Wittenberg University on Saturday. The milestone pickpocket occurred with 4:00 remaining, and it marked the program's first seven-steal game since Antwyan Reynolds tallied seven against Wabash College in 2001.

Earlier in Saturday's win, Billings passed out assist number 10 on sophomore Carter Warstler's fast-break layup with 11:16 to go. With that helper, Billings etched his name in the books as the first Scot with three games with at least 10 assists, and the first one to tally at least 10 in back-to-back contests.

In midweek action, Billings tied Wooster's 49-year-old school record with 12 assists in the Scots' come-from-behind 91-77 win over Kenyon College. In the Wednesday evening tilt, Billings came away with steals on two of Kenyon's first three second-half possessions, then scored both times. The point guard scored 17 points – all in the second half – and added six rebounds and four steals to his line. Billings hit the dozen threshold with 1:55 remaining in the game, and he is the first Scot with a 12-assist game since Mike Stoll in 1972.

For the week, Billings averaged 16.0 points, 11.0 assists, 5.5 steals, and 5.0 rebounds per game. Entering the week, he ranks 10th nationally in steals with 3.07 per game and 25th nationally with 5.9 assists per game.

Billings was previously the NCAC Athlete of the Week on November 22, following MVP honors at the program's Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic.

Wooster (10-4, 6-1 NCAC) is next in action at Denison University (5-6, 4-1 NCAC) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 19.