Pressure Gets to Mounties, as Scots Open Year with 30-Point Win

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team was simply too much for Mount Aloysius College to handle, as a second-half-opening 38-6 run, plus 18 steals in the final 20 minutes, enabled the Fighting Scots to coast to an 86-56 victory on night one of the Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic.

Wooster (1-0) needed a half to settle into its season lid-lifter against a Mount Aloysius (2-2) squad that already had three games under its belt. Come the second half, Mount Aloysius was thoroughly overmatched, starting with senior Turner Kurt's layup in the paint at the 19:37 mark. Steals from sophomore Jamir Billings and junior JJ Cline followed not long after, then senior Najee Hardaway stole the ball from Bryce Huss, beat the Mounties down the floor for a fast-break layup, and finished the old-fashion three-point play.

More steals-to-scores were in store, with junior Nick Everett's steal getting cashed in by a Hardaway three-ball that ballooned Wooster's lead to 57-36 at the 13:53 mark. Billings followed with a floating jumper from 12 feet out after Hardaway rejected an Alphonso Morrow shot to the sideline.

Later, junior Carter Warstler stole the show, earning four steals in a span on five possessions. The final one, which was his sixth of the night, let to a fast-break layup by first-year Vinni Veikalas, who jumped in on the steal parade.

In all, Wooster recorded 22 steals with 11 Scots having at least one. Warstler's six made the grade in the record book as the seventh-most in single-game program history, while Billings had four, and junior Mitch Heilman added three. Mount Aloysius' 29 turnovers were turned into 38 Wooster points.

Wooster did not lead until Warstler knocked down two free throws at the 10:40 mark of the first, but Mount Aloysius quickly retook the lead, which grew to 19-15. Warstler's three-ball with 9:23 remaining in the first trimmed that to one, and Wooster stayed within a possession until Hardaway's driving layup at the 4:40 mark put the Scots up for good at 27-25.

Hardaway's 14 points led three Scots in double figures. He was 6-for-8 from the floor and had three assists and a steal. Kurt added 11 points, while Meredith tallied 10.

Eighteen Scots saw the floor and 16 of them scored. Billings passed out seven assists in just 16:21 of action, and no Scot had more than four rebounds, in part due to nobody playing over 23 minutes because of the large lead.

Wooster shot 47.7 percent (31-of-65) for the game, was 10-of-32 on three-pointers, and went 14-of-17 at the line. The Scots finished with a 37-35 edge in rebounds and had six blocked shots, with Billings leading the way at two.

Jason Coronado's 15 points led Mount Aloysius, but he was victim of Wooster's relentless defensive pressure with eight turnovers. Will Hagwood did not fare much better, coughing the ball up seven times.

Mount Aloysius shot 34.5 percent (19-of-55) from the floor, was just 4-of-18 from range, but did have a solid showing at the line, finishing 14-of-16.

Other areas where Wooster dominated included bench points (44-11), paint points (38-24), and fast-break points (13-2).

Ohio Northern University (2-1) held off Randolph College's (2-2) comeback bid in Friday's Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic opening game and posted an 88-81 victory. CJ Napier scored 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting and had six rebounds, nine fouls drawn, and three assists on his line.

Jordan Phillips-McLoyd's 26 points led all scorers. He was 7-of-19 from the floor and an impressive 9-of-10 at the charity stripe. Phillips-McLoyd scored 21 of his points after halftime.

Saturday's schedule starts with Randolph and Mount Aloysius at 2:15 p.m., with Ohio Northern and Wooster meeting in the championship game at 4:30 p.m.