WOOSTER, Ohio – The 21st-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball team logged three runs of at least 7-0 in the second half, and the Fighting Scots utilized a balanced effort from top to bottom to pull away from visiting Wilmington College 86-65 in the finale of the 2019 Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic on Saturday afternoon.

Junior Dontae Williams dropped a pass down low to Trenton Tipton with 14:54 remaining, and the Scots' senior was fouled in the process of putting Wooster (3-0) up for good with a lay-in. Tipton went on to make it a three-point play, and that came in the midst of a 12-0 stretch by the Scots. Williams' key passes continued throughout the run, including at the end, when he rejected Jeffery Mansfield's lay-in at the rim, secured the defensive rebound, and found junior Keonn Scott on the runout. Scott pulled up in stride and knocked down a three-pointer, which upped Wooster's lead to 53-43.

Mansfield put an end to Wilmington's (1-2) scoring drought with an old-fashion three-point play with 12:12 remaining, and that marked the Fightin' Quakers first points since the clock read 18:00. However, Wilmington quickly saw itself seven points deeper in the hole, thanks to senior Danyon Hempy slipping inside for a layup, sophomore Drew Bishop's fast-break jumper, and Scott's second trifecta of the game, which came on yet another of Williams' four assists.

Two Daeshawn Jackson free throws pulled Wilmington within 62-52 with 9:18 remaining in the tilt. Tipton squashed any rumblings of a comeback bid with a three-pointer, while sophomores Khaylen Mahdi and Najee Hardaway knocked down two free throws each to stake Wooster to a 69-52 lead with 7:57 remaining.

Sophomore Khaylen Mahdi hit a pair of clutch three-pointers in the first half. Photo by Abbi Tarburton '22.

Wooster found itself trying to catch up to Wilmington for most of the first half. Sophomore Brandon Styers' driving layup with 6:07 left in the opening stanza gave the Scots the lead for the first time at 27-26. Later, Hempy found a wide-open Mahdi in three-point land, and the Scots' sophomore canned a go-ahead three-ball with 2:29 left in the stanza. On the next possession, Mahdi hit again from range, with that bucket upping Wooster's lead to 36-32. The Scots went on to settle for a 38-36 lead at halftime.

Other first-half highlights included Hempy's lay-in at the 11:16 mark. Those points moved the senior past associate head coach Doug Cline on the program's all-time scoring list, while by game's end, the psychology major became the 16th Wooster great to surpass 1,400 career points.

All five starters finished in double figures in the scoring column with Scotts' 18 leading the way. The junior was 6-of-10 from the field and canned all three tries at the charity stripe. Tipton poured in a season-high 15 points, and he ended the day a rebound shy of a double-double. Wooster's other statistical highlights featured six assists by Bishop, and four rebounds by Hardaway, all of which came at key junctures of the game.

Wooster shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) from the floor, was 19-of-24 at the charity stripe, logged assists on 18-of-30 field goals, and had an 18-rebound edge over Wilmington.

Mansfield's 17 points marked the team-high for Wilmington, while Jackson's six rebounds were tops on the team.

Wilmington was held to 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from the floor, which included a 7-of-27 showing in the second half. The Fightin' Quakers were 17-of-19 at the charity stripe, and their full-court pressure helped lead to 12 steals.

Next, Wooster hosts the University of Mount Union (2-1) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27. The game is Wooster's youth night where all students in Wayne County, grades 12 and under, are admitted free of charge.