No. 7 Wooster's Strong Start Leads to 98-63 Win in Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic Finale

WOOSTER, Ohio – Senior Dan Fanelly didn't miss a shot for the game while finishing with a game-high 25 points, and the seventh-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball team made its first five field goals and never looked back during a 98-63 win over Defiance College in the second game of the 2016 Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic on Saturday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (2-0) delivered an all-out effort on both ends of the floor from the get-go as the Fighting Scots raced out to a 17-0 lead just over 4:30 into the game. Fanelly book-ended the game-opening run with lay-ups, and had six points during that stretch, while classmate Milt Davis chipped in five points, including knocking down a 3-pointer, which made it 13-0 with 17:08 left in the half.

Defiance (0-2) scored its first point of the night on a DeMario Hill free throw with 14:52 left in the half.

After a 5-0 run by the Yellow Jackets, the Fighting Scots countered with a 7-0 stretch to make it a 24-5 contest with 12:32 left in the opening stanza.

Later in the half, Wooster connected on 3-pointers on three straight possessions. First, sophomore Reece Dupler made his first of four trifectas on the night, extending Wooster's lead past 20 for the first time of the game at 36-14 with 7:20 left in the first half. Then, junior Spencer Williams and Davis drained 3-pointers to make it a 42-16 lead with 5:52 left in the period.

For the half, Wooster shot 58.8 percent (20-For-34) from the field, while the Scots' defense held the Yellow Jackets to 24.1 percent (7-for-29) shooting.

Notable, Wooster did a much better job of taking care of the basketball in the first half as the Scots only turned it over four times, marking a nine-turnover improvement from the first half of the season lid-lifter.

Next, just under 2:30 into the second half, a Dupler 3-pointer sparked a 10-2 Wooster stretch that made it a 64-27 contest with 15:24 left in the game.

Later, a Fanelly lay-in followed by a 3-pointer by sophomore Mitch Balser and a tip-in from junior Derek Schwarz extended Wooster's lead to a game-high 43 points at 78-35 with 11:24 left in the contest.

Fanelly's 25 points came on a perfect 10-for-10 night from the field, in addition to a 5-for-5 clip at the free throw line. His 10-for-10 night set the Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic single-game record for field-goal percentage, besting the 13-for-14 (.929) night Cabrini College's Randy Reid had against the University of Mount Union during the 2006 Classic.

For the tournament, Fanelly's .824 field-goal percentage (14-for-17) broke Ashland University's Chris Gates' 21-year-old Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic record for field-goal percentage. Gates went 13-for-17 (.764) from the floor during the 1995 Classic.

Dupler backed Fanelly up in the scoring column with 16 points, two shy of his career-high, while his .800 (4-for-5) 3-point shooting tied the single-game Classic record, most recently matched by alumnus Nathan Balch against the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) during the 2009 Classic.

In the rebounding department, freshman Danyon Hempy, Schwarz, and junior Ari Stern tied for the team-lead with six each.

Other notable statistical performances were turned in by junior Alex Baptiste (four blocks) and Hempy (three blocks).

As a team, Wooster finished a perfect 13-for-13 at the free-throw line, the first time with an unblemished stat line in this category since the Scots went 12-for-12 against Wittenberg University on Feb. 14, 2009.

Defiance was led by Jonathan Ragland's 11 points.

Next, Wooster travels to No. 17 Marietta College (2-0) for a 6 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Nov. 23.