Wooster Rolls Past Kenyon 101-46 Behind 63-Point First Half

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team made 13 of its first 16 field goals,  and rolled to a 101-46 win over Kenyon College to close out the first round of North Coast Athletic Conference play on Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (10-6, 7-2 NCAC) light up the scoreboard with 63 first-half points, tied for the eighth-most in program history in the opening stanza, while the scoring spree was the highest since the Fighting Scots scored 64 in the first half versus Cabrini University on Nov. 17, 2006.

Wooster really started clicking just under five minutes into the contest as a layup by senior Dan Fanelly marked the first of 11 straight field goals made by the Scots in what turned into a 30-8 stretch over a span of 6:52. Wooster's segment of perfection yielded a 37-16 lead with 8:48 to go in the half, with sophomore Eric Bulic capping the stretch with a layup. During the lengthy run, seven different Scots contributed to the scoring spree with Fanelly and first-year Danyon Hempy leading the way with seven points each.

A few minutes later, Wooster's torrid shooting continued as the Scots combined to go 4-for-6 from the floor during a 13-0 run, led by 3-pointers from sophomore Mitch Balser, senior Milt Davis, and Hempy to push the lead past 30 at 52-20 with 5:33 left in the opening half.

In the second half, Wooster really ramped up its defensive intensity as the Scots held the Lords (4-12, 3-6 NCAC) to 18.2 percent (6-for-33) shooting, including a 1-for-12 mark from beyond the arc. Wooster's defensive efforts also featured nine steals and four blocks over the final 20 minutes, including two blocks by Bulic and two steals by sophomore Reece Dupler and junior Spencer Williams.

Offensively, the second half featured another 13-0 Wooster run, with this one pushing the Scots lead to 50 (84-34) for the first time in the contest. Williams started the clip with a 3-pointer at the 14:06 mark and went on to score the next four points during the run, including a fast-break layup off a full-court pass from Fanelly. On the next possession, Dupler came away with a steal and finished with a one-handed dunk at the offensive end.

Fanelly led five Scots in double figures with 18 points, and he added four rebounds, four assists, and two steals to his stat line. Williams chipped in 15 points to pair with three assists and two steals, while Dupler (12), Davis (11), and Hempy (10) rounded out those in double figures.

Wooster held Kenyon to 26.6 percent (17-for-64) shooting for the game, including a 2-for-19 mark from beyond the arc. Ironically, Kenyon's field-goal percentage marked the lowest by a Wooster opponent since Hiram College also shot 17-for-64 against the Scots on Feb. 11, 2015.

Kenyon was led by Alex Laub's eight points and seven rebounds.

Wooster, in the midst of a three-game home stretch hosts Wabash College (8-8, 4-5 NCAC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.