Peyton Bennington

Keonn Scott

GAMBIER, Ohio – A familiar storyline consisting of several key second-half stretches, important contributions by bench players at crucial junctures of the game, and strong game-long play by a steady starting cast led to another North Coast Athletic Conference win for the 24th-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball team, which topped Kenyon College 83-61 on Wednesday evening at Tomsich Arena.

A 21-9 run spanning 6:37 in the second half was the decisive stretch for Wooster (10-2, 4-1 NCAC). Junior Peyton Bennington, who poured in a season-high 11 points, started the stretch by slipping inside, and he finished off one of classmate Dontae Williams' team-high five assists at the rim. Later, Bennington, a Wooster native, imposed his will on the defensive end to secure a rebound while sandwiched in between a pair of Kenyon (5-6, 2-3 NCAC) players. The communication studies major went on to draw a foul in the process, and two free throws followed right after, which upped Wooster's lead to 55-43 with 10:22 to go.

Bennington wasn't finished yet, as a steal and layup in transition followed on the heels of the two free throws. In fact, Bennington had two sequences during which he logged a steal and layup, with the other resulting in the junior tying the game at 13 midway through the first half.

Sophomore Najee Hardaway scored three points the old-fashion way later in the run. On that play, Hardaway had a nifty scoop shot over his shoulder that went in, and the Scots' starting guard went on to sink his free throw. Classmate Brandon Styers capped the lengthy stretch with a corner three-pointer, which made it a 70-52 contest with 4:49 on the clock.

Kenyon's Kamal Aubakirov pulled the Lords within 57-50 with 9:49 remaining. That's as close as Kenyon came down the stretch, as the Lords were unable to overcome an eight-minute second-half stretch, during which they misfired on 11-of-12 field goal attempts.

In the first half, senior Trenton Tipton swung a pass to the top, where sophomore Drew Bishop knocked down an open three-ball that gave Wooster the lead for good at 16-13. The Scots led by as many as 11 when senior Danyon Hempy knocked down one of his signature jumpers at 38-27 with inside a minute to go.

Junior Keonn Scott's 17 points led four Scots in double figures, and marked the game-high. The junior knocked down a vast array of his signature pull-up jumpers, as he was 8-of-12 from the floor, while also finishing the night as the co-high man on the team in rebounds with six. Hempy chipped in with 16 points, while Williams had a quietly effective night with 13 points, six rebounds, and five helpers.

Wooster connected at a season-high 57.1 percent (32-of-56) clip from the floor, shot at least 56 percent in each half, and nearly doubled up Kenyon in rebounding (42-23). The Scots' bench stepped up with 26 points on the night.

Ugnius Zilinskas had 16 points and eight assists to pace Kenyon.

The Lords shot 32.1 percent (18-of-56) for the game, which marked the Scots' best defensive field goal percentage of the year. Kenyon was just 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) in the second half, but the Lords did hit 17-of-20 free throws.

Wooster's three-game road swing wraps up with a trip to Greencastle, Indiana, on Saturday, January 11. There, Wooster will square off with DePauw University (6-6, 3-2 NCAC) at 1 p.m.