ROCHESTER, New York – A hold on an inbounds pass enabled The College of Wooster men's basketball team to take the lead with 21.7 seconds remaining, but a foul with just four seconds on the clock enabled Rowan University (New Jersey) to take a 78-77 decision over the Fighting Scots on Saturday evening at the University of Rochester's Louis Alexander Palestra.
Wooster (1-1) junior transfer Ashton Price split a pair of free throws to give the Scots a 77-76 lead. A foul was called on Josh Wright's floater from about 16 feet out with four seconds on the clock, and the Profs' guard made both free throws to reach 20 points on the night and put Wooster in a one-point hole. Wooster was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.
Foul trouble limited Wooster sophomore EJ Kapihe to just 5:42 of action in Friday's season-opening 78-60 win over Rochester, but the forward more than made up for it with a team-high 20 points. In fact, Kapihe doubled his season point total from last year on Saturday night. Kapihe was 7-of-14 from the floor, 2-of-4 from deep, and had five rebounds.
Wooster's best first half stretch was a 9-0 run that started with two Nolan Burk free throws at the 15:33 mark. Junior Jamir Billings found an open Price on an inbounds play for one of his game-high 10 assists, and Burk's strong move down low had Wooster up 14-8 with 13:17 on the clock. However, six straight possessions that ultimately ended in turnovers at the end of the first half enabled Rowan to take a 44-40 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Rowan's pressure hurt Wooster, as the Profs' Khalif Mears grew a steal count to eight. Wooster did however do a much better job defensively, cooling a Rowan team that shot 50 percent in the first half to a 27 percent (10-of-37) clip from the field after halftime. That brought Rowan's game percentage down to 37.7 percent (26-of-69), but the Profs did go 16-of-24 at the charity stripe for 66.7 percent.
Kapihe's 20 points were followed by Everett's 14, Price's 12, and sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway's career-high 10. Cox-Holloway was one off matching his point total from his first season with the team. Billings' 10 assists marked double-digit game number six, Evertt led with nine rebounds, and Billings and Price had two steals each.
Wooster shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) for the game, had a 44-36 rebounding margin, but ultimately had too many turnovers with a 20-11 disadvantage there.
Wright's 20 points were fueled by four three-pointers. Meares added 18 points and three rebounds to the eight-steal night, while Ja'Zere Noel had 15 points, eight rebounds, and two blocked shots.
Saturday's game had 14 lead changes and the score was tied nine times.
Next, Wooster hosts Rose-Hulman Institution of Technology (1-0) at 8 p.m. on Friday, November 17 to cap night one of the program's annual Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic. The donation of two canned or box food items for People to People Ministries food pantry is good for half-price admission.