WINTER PARK, Florida – The College of Wooster men's basketball team rose to the occasion, making the key plays needed down the stretch to top the University of Saint Joseph (Connecticut) 93-90 and win the Steve Moore Sunshine Classic on Wednesday afternoon at Rollins College's Alfond Sports Center.

Team basketball, a staple of Moore-coached Wooster (4-6) teams on an annual basis, was on full display throughout. A key component of that style is pushing in transition. Junior Ashton Price carried that torch, beating the Blue Jays (8-3) down the floor on consecutive possessions for fast-break transition layups. Senior JJ Cline found Price for the first one, and junior Jamir Billings was the assister on the second period.

The fast break points fueled Price, who went on to claim the tournament most valuable player award. Following the transition buckets, Price hit a pair of three-pointers, the second of which opened a 58-47 Wooster lead with 12:41 to go. Wooster's lead was 62-54 and 66-58 after a driving layup by sophomore Isaac Roeder and a floating jumper by sophomore EJ Kapihe, respectively. However, USJ was right back in the mix when all-tournament team selection Jonathan Box canned a three-pointer in transition that had the Blue Jays within 71-68 at the 5:28 mark.

Billings, the defensive most valuable player – fittingly the highest individual honor in a Moore-named tournament – was clutch down the stretch, hitting two three-pointers, and he staked Wooster to an 83-78 lead with 1:21 on the clock. Wooster went 10-of-12 at the charity stripe in the final minute before USJ hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull within three.

In the first half, sophomore Isaiah Johnson was busy playing his way onto the all-tournament team. The guard's floating jumper fell, pulling Wooster within 24-21 with 8:30 before halftime. Next, sophomore Vinni Veikalas kept a possession alive with an offensive rebound, and sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway cashed in with a three-pointer that tied the game at 24 with just over seven minutes left in the opening stanza. Later, Johnson cleaned up on the offensive glass, and his stick-back trimmed Wooster's deficit to 37-33 at halftime.

Wooster was locked in at the charity stripe, making 32-of-36 free throws to finish just shy of 90 percent for the game. Senior Nick Everett made all eight of his free throws, while Price was perfect on his six tries.

Billings ended the game with 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. He moved past Brandon Johnson for third on the program's all-time steals leaderboard with steal 185 at the second stanza's 12:29 mark. Price followed with 20 points, three assists, and two steals. Johnson's 14 points marked a career-high, while his seven rebounds tied a career-high. Kapihe (11) and Everett (10) rounded out the Scots in double figures in the scoring column.

Wooster shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) for the game and had a 36-23 lead in rebounding. The offensive glass was a point of pure dominance for Wooster, with the Scots having 10 to just one for the Blue Jays. That led to a 14-0 discrepancy on second-chance points.

Box hit 4-of-5 three-pointers as part of a 6-of-7 day from the floor. Jalen Samuels had 21 points to claim USJ's other spot on the all-tournament team.

USJ hit 51.7 percent (30-of-58) of its shots and had just eight turnovers in the game.

Bethany Lutheran College (Minnesota) (8-3) pulled away from Suffolk University (Massachusetts) (4-5) down the stretch for a 94-72 win in the consolation game. All-tournament team honoree Hunter Nielsen scored 25 points and corralled 10 rebounds for Bethany Lutheran (8-3). The forward was 7-of-10 from the floor and a razor sharp 11-of-12 at the charity stripe. Suffolk's (4-5) all-tournament selection Evan Cook scored 17 points and had three steals and a pair of assists in the loss. Bethany Lutheran outshot Suffolk 55.9 percent (33-of-59) to 38.6 percent (27-of-70) and had 24 points off turnovers.

Of note, Wooster is 4-0 all-time at the Steve Moore Sunshine Classic.

Next, Wooster hosts one of the longest-running small college basketball tournaments – the E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic. Top-ranked John Carroll University (8-1) and Wheaton College (Illinois) (2-8) open the tournament at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 29, with Edgewood College (Wisconsin) (4-6) taking on Wooster at 7 p.m. Fans can get half-price admission with the donation of two new or gently used clothing items which will be donated to Goodwill Industries. Admission is regularly $8 for adults and $7 for seniors and youth.