ROCHESTER, New York – The College of Wooster men's basketball team opened the year with a 78-60 win over the University of Rochester, rolling behind a 17-0 second-half run and a strong all-around defensive effort that resulted in the Yellowjackets finishing with a shooting percentage that was nearly halved from when the teams met a season ago. The season-opening meeting took place on Friday evening at Rochester's Louis Alexander Palestra, and with the win, Wooster meets up with Rowan University (New Jersey) in Saturday's 6 p.m. Chuck Resler Tournament championship.
Rochester (0-1) was within 40-37 when Wooster's (1-0) extended run started. When all was said and done, the Yellowjackets did not score over 7:41 and missed 13 straight field goals after starting the second half 3-for-5. Junior transfer Ashton Price was a key difference maker in his Wooster debut, and a turnaround jumper from the guard made it 43-37 at the 15:33 mark. Wooster's returning all-conference duo was too much for Rochester to handle, as junior Jamir Billings picked Tomiwa Adetosoye's pocket for steal four of the night, then found senior Nick Everett, who showcased his on-point three-point range. Everett's singular determination to outwork every single player down low resulted in a couple hard-earned buckets, then Price splashed home a three-pointer following a skip pass from Billings that upped the lead to 55-37 as the clock hit 13:04.
Senior transfer Nolan Burk's free throws capped the run with Wooster ahead 57-37 before Adetosoye hit a three-pointer with 9:38 on the clock for Rochester's first points since 17:19. Rochester mounted an 8-0 run before Billings erased comeback hopes, hitting his fifth three-ball of the game to make it 60-45 with just over 7:00 remaining. Wooster's lead remained in double figures the rest of the game.
Billings' catch-and-shoot three-pointer broke a 9-9 tie at the first period's 13:10 mark and gave Wooster the lead for good. Sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway, who assisted on the go-ahead triple, won an offensive rebound, then muscled up the stick-back layup through contact to up Wooster's lead to three. Price's driving layup made it 16-11 with 10:59 on the first-half clock, and the junior again scored off the drive after Rochester pulled within one. Billings' step-back three-pointer came during Wooster's 13-3 first-half stretch, and a pullup triple from Billings grew the Scots' lead to 29-18 at the five-minute mark.
Everett's career-high grew to 25 points. The junior went 12-of-17 from the floor and secured seven rebounds in the win. Price followed with 18 points in his Wooster debut on 5-of-7 shooting and a 7-of-9 showing at the charity stripe. Billings dropped in 17 points on the strength of five three-pointers and he led all players with five steals. Cox-Holloway had three of Wooster's other five steals and senior JJ Cline led the Scots to a 44-29 rebounding advantage with eight boards.
Wooster shot 50 percent (27-of-54) from the field, 50 percent (8-of-16) on three-pointers, and 64 percent (16-of-25) at the line. Wooster was 60 percent (12-of-20) from the floor in the second half, scored 13 second-chance points, and had 38 points in the paint.
Adetosoye scored 17 points for high honors on Rochester. Logan Jagodzinski followed with 12 points.
Rochester, which shot nearly 67 percent from the floor when the teams played last season at Timken Gymnasium, was just 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the floor and 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from deep. The Yellowjackets did have 23 points off turnovers.
Of note, Wooster snapped Rochester's 17-game winning streak in the Chuck Resler Tournament. The Scots are looking for their third Chuck Resler title, having last won it in 1995, which was Wooster's most recent appearance in the annual event prior to this year.
Rowan (1-0) topped Maryville College (Tennessee) (0-1) 94-90 in the opening game of the Chuck Resler Tournament. Khalif Mears and Ja'Zere Noel combined for 48 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists.