WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team pulled away from Kenyon College early in Saturday's 77-53 win at Timken Gymnasium, while senior Nick Everett's shot at breaking an all-time NCAA Div. III record came up just short.
Wooster's (13-8, 9-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) lead never dipped below 10 beyond the first half's 14:06 mark and it only fell below 20 for a span of 47 seconds after halftime. Sophomore EJ Kapihe's free throw made it a 14-3 game, and the lead returned north of 20 when sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway's three-pointer fell through with 16:16 to go.
Everett entered play four made field goals shy of the all-time NCAA Div. III record of 26 consecutive makes set by Anna Maria College's Mike Rapoza in 2018. Wooster's star forward's 24th consecutive make came in transition following his own steal at the 16:21 mark. Everett's miss with 15:17 left on the first-half clock marked his first non-successful field goal since near the first half's midpoint of Wooster's 72-62 win over Oberlin College on Jan. 17. Everett finished Saturday's contest with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and he is an astonishing 53-of-64 (82.8 percent) from the floor over the program's last 11 games. Everett's run of 24 consecutive field goal makes is believed to be the longest stretch in program history.
After scoring the game's first bucket, Kenyon (5-16, 3-9 NCAC) did not score again until Connor Moss' free throw with 12:40 on the first half clock. Wooster strung together a 16-0 run during that stretch. Junior Jamir Billings was a havoc inducer when Kenyon possessed the ball, as three of his game-high five steals came during that stretch. Billings' swipe at 16:46 broke a tie with Ryan Gorman, giving the junior solo ownership of the second-most steals in program history. On the year, Billings' 62 steals are the seventh-most in program history.
Wooster closed the half on an 8-0 run. Everett's second-chance points came from a Billings assist, while the Scots' point guard found junior Ashton Price for a fastbreak layup following steal five of the game. That upped Billings' assist counter to seven, and he went on to add two more in the second half.
Second-half highlights saw a balanced effort from the Scots. Nine players found the scoring column and only one – Cox-Holloway – had six or more points. Cox-Holloway was the second-half leader, adding three rebounds and two steals to the game ledger.
Price's 18 points led all players. Cox-Holloway followed Everett's 17 with 10. Kapihe's seven rebounds paced the Scots, and five of those came on the offensive end.
Wooster shot 46.9 percent (30-of-64) for the game, outrebounded Kenyon 38-27, and again lowered the season-best effort in the turnover column, this time to eight.
Dylan Fuerst, Murathan Kocaman, and Nick Nelson had 10 points each for Kenyon. Kocaman's seven rebounds matched Kapihe for high honors.
Kenyon shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) and had 18 turnovers.
Next, Oberlin College (12-9, 6-6 NCAC) visits Timken Gymnasium for Wooster's final home game of the regular season. Tipoff on Wednesday, Feb. 7 is set for 7:30 p.m. At halftime, Wooster will recognize several of its teams' honorees on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll.