No. 24 Wooster Shoots Past Allegheny 73-51

The College of Wooster bounced back from a disappointing road loss with a decisive road win on Wednesday night, as the No. 24 ranked Fighting Scots shot just under 60 percent from the field in rolling past Allegheny College 73-51 during a North Coast Athletic Conference match-up at Meadville, Pa.

Wooster (13-3, 4-3 NCAC) scored the game's first eight points, six by Josh Claytor, and went on to construct a 25-14 lead with six minutes remaining in the first half. Allegheny (2-14, 0-7 NCAC), though, used a late 9-2 run to climb back into the game and got the margin to as close as three (31-28) before the Scots' Justin Hallowell hit a 3-pointer a second ahead of the buzzer for their 34-28 halftime lead.

The Gators connected on a shot from outside the arc for the first points of the second, but it was all Wooster from that point on. The visitors rattled off a 9-3 run for a double-digit lead again (45-34), and after Allegheny pulled within nine a couple of times, the Scots tacked on 13 unanswered points over a stretch of nine minutes to make it 60-38 and essentially seal the outcome.

Wooster finished at 58.7 percent shooting (27-for-46), including 7-of-14 on 3-point attempts, and limited the Gators to under 40 percent from the floor (.366; 15-for-41). The Scots also outrebounded the hosts 30-18, but they did commit 17 turnovers, 11 during the first 20 minutes, which resulted in the close halftime score.

Claytor and Jake Mays overmatched Allegheny on the inside, combining for 30 points on 13-of-18 field goals and 14 rebounds. Claytor tallied 16 points, 14 coming in the opening half, and eight boards, which were game highs in both categories, while Mays matched a career high set earlier this season with 14 points.

Additionally, Xavier Brown tossed in 15 points on an efficient 6-of-7 night from the field and Matt Fegan, back in the starting lineup, doled out six assists to equal a season high in that category.

For the Gators, Devone McLeod and Gabe Seidman contributed 11 points apiece.

This Saturday night, Wooster welcomes Ohio Wesleyan University (13-3, 5-2 NCAC) to Timken Gymnasium for a key conference clash at 7:30 p.m.