Stingy Defense Lifts No. 6 Wooster Past Adrian 75-50

The College of Wooster, ranked No. 6 in NCAA Div. III (D3hoops.com), limited host Adrian College to less than 30 percent shooting from the field, keying a 75-50 non-conference victory Saturday in Adrian, Mich.

Wooster (5-0), which held two opponents under 30 percent field-goal shooting during its national runner-up performance a season ago, never trailed during the contest.

Midway through the first half, the Fighting Scots extended a 14-11 lead into double figures with 10 unanswered points (24-11), starting with 3-pointers by Xavier Brown and Kenny DeBoer. The margin would drop back into single digits a couple of times (27-18 and 29-20), but a strong 11-4 run to end the half allowed Wooster to go ahead 40-24.

The Scots extended their margin to 20 points (47-27) with a 7-3 stretch to start the second and it never dipped below 16 the rest of the way, as they eventually secured the 25-point triumph.

Statistically, Wooster's defense not only kept Adrian (4-3) to a rate of .293 from the floor (17-for-58), but the Scots also outrebounded their hosts by a substantial 50-31 margin. Offensively, Wooster was at 44.4 percent for the game from the field (24-for-54), including 10-of-20 3-pointers.

Three Scots reached double figures in scoring with Justin Hallowell leading the way at 13 points, followed by Justin Warnes with 11 and Josh Claytor with 10, despite playing just 14 minutes due to foul trouble.

Jake Mays played one of his best collegiate games, as the junior center grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds, nearly twice as many as his previous best (7), to lead all players in that category, plus he added nine points, a career-high three assists, and three blocked shots.

The Bulldogs' Eric Lewis was a spark off the bench with a team-leading 13 points, including 3-of-7 3-pointers.

Next, Wooster will play a key North Coast Athletic Conference match-up as No. 17 ranked Wittenberg University (2-2, 1-0 NCAC) visits Timken Gymnasium Wednesday night for the first of the two archrivals' annual regular season meetings. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.