Fighting Scots’ Defense, Intensity Lead to 79-44 Rout of Terriers

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster put together a stingy defensive effort for most of Wednesday night's 40 minutes and rolled past Hiram College, as the Fighting Scots held the Terriers to 26.6 percent field-goal shooting during a 79-44 triumph in North Coast Athletic Conference action at Timken Gymnasium.

Unranked in the D3hoops.com top-25 for the first time since Jan. 10, 2010 – a stretch of 63 polls – Wooster (17-5, 11-4 NCAC) came out energized and focused, most noticeably on the defensive end. With the score 5-4 through four minutes, the offense picked up the pace, and paired together, it resulted in a 34-3 stretch over the next 12 minutes as the Scots opened up a 39-7 advantage.

In fact, the only scoring for Hiram (9-13, 3-12 NCAC) during that sequence made it 13-7, meaning  the Scots accounted for 26 unanswered points, including 3-pointers by five different players – Milt Davis, Evan Pannell, Spencer Williams, Jalen Goodwin, and Dan Fanelly.

Wooster eventually went into halftime with a 44-14 cushion, having limited the Terriers to a .207 shooting rate from the floor (6-for-29).

The closest the margin got during the second half was 53-26, then a Goodwin dunk kick started a 16-4 run, and the Scots went on to lead by as much as 44 points (76-32).

Wooster's final defensive numbers included the visitors' 17-for-64 shooting from the field, plus 10 blocked shots and 10 steals, while offensively, it finished at 51.0 percent on field goals (25-for-49), including 11-of-21 from 3-point range (.524).

Fanelly led all players in scoring (19), rebounding (8), and assists (4), while fellow post Josh Kipfer also provided a spark with 15 points and six boards.

Others in double figures were Davis and Williams with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Also of note, Goodwin tallied a career-high three blocked shots and Alex LaLonde matched him in that department, while Pannell collected three steals.

Next, the Scots will be at archrival Wittenberg University (9-13, 7-8 NCAC) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.