OBERLIN, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team overcame Oberlin College's strong start to the second half, and a series of late clutch plays lifted the Fighting Scots to a 72-62 win over the Yeomen on Wednesday evening at Philips Gymnasium.
Wooster's (9-8, 5-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) win coupled with DePauw University's (10-7, 5-3 NCAC) 65-61 win over Denison University (10-7, 6-2 NCAC) on Wednesday pulled the Scots within a game of co-first-place Denison and Wittenberg University (12-5, 6-2 NCAC) with the second round of conference play set to start on Saturday. Five of the NCAC's nine teams are within a game of first-place in the standings.
On Wednesday night, senior JJ Cline's floater from about 10 feet out fell with 4:15 remaining, breaking a 55-55 tie. Wooster never trailed the rest of the way. Oberlin's (9-8, 3-5 NCAC) lone time within a possession following Cline's go-ahead bucket came with 2:10 remaining when JJ Gray sank a pair of free throws to make it 60-57.
Next, junior Jamir Billings sucked in Oberlin's defense on a drive, and that freed up classmate Ashton Price on the outside for an open three-pointer. Price extended the lead to 65-59 on the next possession after he was fouled on a baseline drive with 1:12 remaining. Later, sophomore Isaiah Johnson had a lead step on Oberlin's defense following Billings' 10th rebound of the night, and the Scots' point guard was on the money with the lengthy fast-break pass. Wooster broke the press with 32.4 seconds remaining, leaving sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway at the rim as part of a two-on-one fast break. The forward was fouled and converted both free throws to up the lead to 69-62.
Oberlin's first lead came at the second half's 15:41 mark when Will Bousquette delivered the smooth touch on a pull-up jumper from the free throw line. That put Oberlin up 41-39, and the Yeomen led 46-43 before a 6:21 scoring drought. Wooster went on a 7-0 run during Oberlin's scoreless stretch and led until the score was tied at 55. Sophomore Isaac Roeder was key in the run, hitting a shot clock-beating three-pointer while blanketed at the arc. Defensively, senior Nick Everett provided the big highlight with his blocked shot.
Outside shooting is where Wooster capitalized in the first half. The Scots hit 8-of-15 three-pointers to outscore the Yeomen by four from the field, as both teams hit 12 first-half field goals. Wooster's first nine points of the night came on the longball, with Price, Cox-Holloway, and Cline hitting from range in the game's first 2:49. Roeder's three-ball at the 11:13 mark upped Wooster's lead to 21-11, while the advantage was 24-13 on the next possession, thanks to sophomore Vinni Veikalas sinking a three-pointer on a Johnson assist. Later, Roeder was on the money again from deep, growing Wooster's lead to a game-high 14 points at 27-13. Oberlin was within 36-30 at halftime.
Price led Wooster with 19 points and five assists. Cox-Holloway, Cline, and Everett all reached double figures in the scoring column, as did Billings in rebounds. Billings passed out three assists to move within seven of cracking the program's all-time top-five.
Wooster shot 52.1 percent (25-of-48) for the game, hit 10 three-pointers, and had a 10-0 edge on fastbreak points.
Oberlin's Gray led all players with 22 points. Yuuki Okubo passed out six assists for the Yeomen. NCAA Div. III's second-leading assist-to-turnover ratio performer had a three-to-one margin on the night, below the 5.88 per-game average coming in to play.
Oberlin shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) for the game and was just 36.7 percent (11-of-30) in the second half when Wooster deployed a mix of three-two zone and man-to-man defense.
Wooster kicks off the second round of NCAC play with a 4:15 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 20 at Timken Gymnasium against Denison.