Wooster Lights Up Scoreboard with 65 First-Half Points En Route to 95-49 Win Over Allegheny

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team jumped out to a 10-0 lead en route to a season-high 65-point first half, and pushed its winning streak to 10 straight games with a well-balanced 95-49 win over Allegheny College on Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (16-6, 13-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) remains tied on top of the league standings with Ohio Wesleyan University (13-2 NCAC) as the Battling Bishops topped Hiram College 71-62, setting up a big first-place contest in Delaware, Ohio on Saturday at 3 p.m. between the Fighting Scots and Bishops with the winner taking a one-game lead into the final week of the regular-season.

Ironically, the last time Wooster scored 65 or more first-half points was 11 years ago to the day as the Scots scored 68 in the opening stanza of an eventual 129-67 win over Hiram on Feb. 8, 2006. Notable, Wooster's 65 opening-half points are tied for the sixth-most in the program annals.

While Wooster cruised offensively with points on each of its first three possessions, the defense was equally as impressive as sophomore Reece Dupler came away with steals on each of Allegheny's (7-15, 4-11 NCAC) first three trips down the court.

Just under five minutes into the contest, first-year Danyon Hempy knocked down 3-pointers on three trips down the court in a four-possession span in what was a high-paced first half. Notable, that stretch covered 1:27 giving Hempy two spans in games against Allegheny with nine or more points in under two minutes, as the guard scored 10 points in a stretch of 1:52 of game play in Meadville, Pa. back on Jan. 11.

One tick past the midway point of the first half, Dupler connected on a jumper to push Wooster's lead past 20 for the duration of the contest. Of note, that sparked a 9-0 run with senior Dan Fanelly knocking down a 3-pointer at the other end of the stretch – one of a season-high matching 13 the Scots combined to knock down on the night. In fact, Wooster connected on two-thirds (10-for-15) of its 3-pointers in the opening half, and Fanelly's sparked a 6-for-7 stretch over the final 7:54 of the stanza.

Junior Spencer Williams sparked a 7-0 spurt just over five minutes into the second half off of an assist from Dupler, prior to the sophomore coming up with a steal and finishing a layup in traffic on the ensuing Gator possession.

Later in the game, Wooster's depth showcased seamless gameplay with sophomore Simon Texidor knocking down shots from beyond the arc on back-to-back possessions, first-year big man Trenton Tipton dishing out two assists to pair with two rebounds and a bucket, and sophomore Petey Zaremba filling the stat sheet with three points, three rebounds, and an assist.

Fanelly led the way with a game-high 22 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field and a 9-for-11 night at the charity stripe. Hempy turned in an equally as impressive night with a 7-for-11 stat line from the field en route to 18 points. While Fanelly and Hempy were the only Scots in double figures, 11 student-athletes found the scoring column, including seven who chipped in between five and nine points.

Junior Alex Baptiste and sophomore Eric Bulic each finished the game with nine points and eight rebounds, while Dupler logged five steals.

Jamison Nee led Allegheny with 12 points, while the Gators were held to 29 percent (18-for-62) shooting for the game, including a 7-for-31 clip in the second half.