Steals Add Up in 84-57 Win at Kenyon

GAMBIER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team's 17 steals marked the most in nearly two decades, and the Fighting Scots pulled away from Kenyon College 84-57 on Wednesday evening at Tomsich Arena.

Wooster (14-6, 10-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) simply dominated the middle stretch of the game, outscoring Kenyon (2-17, 0-12 NCAC) 40-10 over a span of 13:20. Sophomore Elijah Meredith finished at the rim to start that lengthy span of excellence with 5:34 remaining in the first half.

Sophomore Carter Warstler's defense gave the Scots much needed breathing room, as Wooster went on a 14-2 run within the 40-10 stretch late in the first half. Kenyon coughed the ball up four times during that span, and Warstler was right there for three of them. He had a steal-turned-uncontested fast-break layup that made it 23-21 at the 5:20 mark. Later, he drew a charge on Alex Boyd with 3:50 to go, and that marked the third drawn offensive foul of the half for the Scots' guard. On the next possession, Warstler came up with steal three, and first-year Jamir Billings corralled the ball out of midair for his second steal of the night soon after. Senior Najee Hardaway muscled up a jumper at the rim that made it 33-23 Wooster with the scoreboard showing 2:14 north of halftime.

Meredith's instincts led to the forward stepping in front of two second-half Kenyon passes, and he slammed home a pair of dunks in the opening 3:24. The second one capped a 12-0 run, during which Wooster had four steals. Hardaway was credited with one, as was Billings, who poked the ball away from Anthony Testa prior to Meredith finishing on the offensive end.

Billings' driving layup with 14:56 remaining pushed Wooster's lead past 20. The first-year guard's fast-break layup following his sixth steal of the night made it a 65-34 game, and the 31-point difference marked Wooster's largest of the night.

Wooster's 17 steals are the most since the Scots had 17 against Case Western Reserve University on November 22, 2002. Billings had seven alone, and he is the first Scot with three games with at least seven steals in program history. Of note, Billings' season haul climbed to 70, and he is the first Scot with at least 70 in a year since Antwyan Reynolds posted a school record 75 during the 2000-01 campaign.

Warstler was just as impactful with five steals, marking a new career-best, and he has nine over the Scots' last two games. Meredith rounded out the Wooster players with multiple steals, while sophomore Mitch Heilman, Hardaway, senior Brandon Styers, and sophomore Brennan South got in on the fun too.

Meredith's 22 points led all scorers. He went 10-of-16 from the floor. Warstler led the Scots in assists and rebounds with seven tallies in each statistical category.

Wooster's 55.9 percent (38-of-68) accuracy from the floor was a new season-best clip. The Scots had a slight 40-37 edge on the glass.

Miles Versa's 10 points led Kenyon, which shot just 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the floor.

Next, Ohio Wesleyan University (12-7, 9-3 NCAC) travels to Timken Gymnasium for a 7 p.m. clash on Saturday, February 5.