No. 19 Wooster Eases Past Kenyon by 10

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster committed a season-low nine turnovers, using steady play to build a lead against Kenyon College, and owned a double-digit margin for much of the last 11 minutes during a 78-68 North Coast Athletic Conference win Wednesday night at Timken Gymnasium.

Kenyon (8-10, 2-7 NCAC) scored on the initial possession of the game, but that would be the visitors only lead. Wooster (15-3, 6-3 NCAC) accounted for 11 of the next 15 points, then neither team produced any offense for four minutes as it stood 11-6 through 10 minutes.

The Fighting Scots went ahead by eight briefly at 15-7, but that was followed by 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions for the Lords, cutting the deficit to 19-16. It remained a 2-to-6-point game for the remainder of the half, with Wooster taking a 34-29 edge into the locker room.

Opening the second with a 7-2 spurt, Kenyon knotted the contest at 36. Wooster responded with its biggest run of the night, an 11-1 stretch, to take control of the game. The Scots expanded their lead to as much as 14 (61-47) before having to weather one last rally that saw the Lords trim it to six (64-58).

On the ensuing possession, Justin Hallowell drained a 3-pointer, and shortly thereafter, Xavier Brown did the same, which bumped the advantage back to 13 (71-58). Wooster sealed the victory by making 7-of-8 free throws the final minute.

The only significant statistical differences in the game were the Scots' nine turnovers to Kenyon's 15, and the Lords' struggles from the free throw line where they made just 52.4 percent (11-for-21), compared to Wooster's 76.0 percent (19-for-25).

Josh Claytor led the Scots in scoring for the fifth time in six games, netting 18 points on 8-of-10 field goals. Three others reached double figures, as Hallowell had 14 points to go with seven rebounds, Brown made both of his 3-point attempts as part of a 12-point effort, and Matt Fegan had 11 points and a game-high five assists.

Ikenna Nwadibia paced Kenyon with 17 points and four assists.

Wooster now hits a challenging stretch of its season with four of the next five on the road, starting with Hiram College (11-7, 4-5 NCAC) on Saturday afternoon.