WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team scorched Oberlin College, shooting 83.3 percent over 29:09 of game time in Wednesday's 97-69 rout of the Yeomen at Timken Gymnasium.
Wooster (14-8, 10-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) made 30 of its 36 field goals from the 14:59 mark of the first period through the 5:50 mark of the second stanza. Included in there was a span of scoring on 19 of the final 20 possessions of the first half. The near-perfect efficiency enabled Wooster to open a 49-30 halftime lead.
Sophomore EJ Kapihe, a Hawaii native, turned in a memorable performance. The forward dropped in a career- and game-high 21 points on a perfect 9-of-9 night from the floor while playing in front of his parents for the first time as a Fighting Scot. In fact, it was Kapihe who started the 83.3 percent stretch, yet Wooster was not in the lead at that point after having to overcome a 1-of-7 start from the floor.
A 12-0 run, ignited by a Kapihe triple, erased Wooster's early deficit. Sophomore Vinni Veikalas' three-ball fell through with 9:39 on the clock, and that bucket put Wooster up 19-13.
Wednesday's other first-half storyline was the play of junior Jamir Billings. Billings owned the Yeomen (12-10, 6-7 NCAC) on the defensive end, logging six steals. Offensively, he was the distributor, passing out seven first-half assists. For the game, Billings logged 10 assists and six steals. He is within 15 assists of the program's all-time record and now owns the first-, third-, and fourth-place spots on the program's single-season steals list.
Wooster's second-half field-goal percentage was equally as impressive, with the team finishing at 69.2 percent on 18-of-26 shooting. The Scots were challenging for a game mark north of 70 percent as late as the final 4:31. The team went on to finish at 66.7 percent (34-of-51) for the game.
Oberlin had no answer for Wooster's physicality inside. The Yeomen did not fare any better when trying to slow senior Nick Everett, who went for 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Wooster's starting five-man did most of the damage at the charity stripe, going 8-of-9, and he drew nine fouls in the game. Combined, Everett and Kapihe had 39 points on 14-of-15 shooting.
Elsewhere, junior Ashton Price scored 16 points, Kapihe backed his points up with three steals, and Veikalas marked down eight tallies in the scoring column. Billings' 10 assists upped the season double-digit output to three and the career one to eight, while he now has five of the program's 17 games with at least six steals.
Wooster outrebounded Oberlin 30-18 and the Scots bench hung 56 points on the scoreboard.
JJ Gray, Oberlin's sensational first-year, paced the Yeomen with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Milun Micanovic added 11 points.
Oberlin shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) for the game.
Wooster's win pulled the Scots back into a first-place tie with Wabash College (14-8, 10-3 NCAC), which was idle on Wednesday. The two teams have a game lead on Wittenberg University (15-7, 9-4 NCAC) with three games remaining in the regular season.
Next, Wooster heads to Wittenberg for the 128th all-time meeting between NCAA Div. III's two winningest teams. Tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 10 is set for 7 p.m.