Fighting Scots Overwhelm Lakers 89-48 in Opener

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster, ranked No. 20 in D3hoops.com's preseason top-25 poll, opened the season with a near-flawless first half, as the Fighting Scots led Silver Lake College 56-14 at the break, then rolled to an 89-48 win during Thursday's portion of the Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic at Timken Gymnasium.

Shortly after the opening moments, Wooster (1-0) took control of the game as it turned a 4-3 lead into 22-4 via an 18-1 stretch. Silver Lake (3-7), a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, briefly interrupted the run with a 3-pointer, only to watch Wooster rip off eight unanswered points for a  30-7 cushion just past the midway point of the first half.

The Scots added a 16-0 run later in the half, which resulted in a 51-11 bulge, and they went into halftime up by 42 points.

Wooster's sizable lead was in large credit to defense, as it helped induce 18 turnovers and turned those into 22 points while committing just one turnover on the other end. Also notable, the Scots owned a 27-15 rebounding advantage at halftime.

The second half did not offer as many extended runs, but Wooster did steadily expand its advantage to as much as 56 points (82-26).

Among the final statistics that stood out was the Scots' balance. Five players reached double figures in scoring, each finishing with 10-to-12 points, and they dished out 21 assists as a team on 33 field goals without one player recording more than three assists.

Alex Baptiste, a sophomore transfer, notched a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds in his Wooster debut, and Dan Fanelly matched him with identical totals in those categories.

Milt Davis and Spencer Williams each scored 12 points, with 10 of Davis's coming in the first half, while Alex LaLonde put 10 markers in the book.

Of Wooster's 15 steals, Davis was credited with six – tied for the fourth-most in school history by an individual.

For Silver Lake, Jordan Portee produced team highs of 10 points and three assists.

The Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic will also take place Saturday afternoon when the Scots take on Skidmore College (1-1), which reached the second round of the 2015 NCAA Div. III Championship. Tip-off is at 1 p.m.