Defense Fuels Scots to 77-60 Victory Over Gators

WOOSTER, Ohio – An elite defensive performance with active hands all over the court, plus an imposing rim protector, kept visiting Allegheny College at bay, and The College of Wooster men's basketball team gradually pulled away from the Gators, winning 77-60 on Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

Junior Turner Kurt was at the forefront of Wooster's (5-1, 3-0 North Coast Athletic Conference) defensive surge, rejecting seven shots on the night, including five in the first half alone. That total trails only Wooster legendary rim protectors Mike Trimmer and Stan Aukamp on the programs' single-game leaderboard. Kurt was one of the Scots with the lightning-quick hands, finishing with a co-team-leading three steals. First-year Jamir Billings added three, and nearly had two others, with the roll out after his deflections just keeping pace ahead of the defensive wizard the length of the floor. In all, the Scots upped their season-high in steals to 11, while Allegheny (4-5, 2-1 NCAC) star guard Brian Roberts Jr. was charged with seven turnovers on the night.

Wooster trailed by five as late as 20-15. Kurt's driving layup at the 5:52 mark in the first half put the Scots up for good at 27-25, and started a 12-0 run. In fact, Kurt had a personal 7-0 run within that stretch, thanks to canning a three-pointer on the next possession, then laying in a bucket at the rim. Next, senior Najee Hardaway tracked down an offensive rebound, then found junior Tayler McNeal for a three-ball, before Kurt's jumper from outside the paint upped the lead to 37-25 at the 3:10 mark. Wooster settled for a 39-31 halftime lead.

Sophomore Elijah Meredith dropped in two of his season-high 23 points from the charity stripe with 9:08 remaining, with those capping Wooster's 18-2 second-half run. The Scots led 69-46 at that point, and the lead did not dip below 17 the rest of the way. Second-chance points fueled the extended second-half stretch, with senior Brandon Styers hitting from range, Styers cleaning up an offensive miss, and Meredith's charity tallies all coming after offensive boards.

Meredith went 8-of-16 from the floor, 2-of-5 on three-pointers, and 5-of-6 at the line. The sophomore secured six rebounds and was one of seven Scots with at least five boards on the night. Of note, Meredith's four offensive rebounds marked the top total on the night. Styers followed with 19 points, five rebounds and two assists. Kurt rounded out the Scots in double figures in the scoring column. He tallied 11 points and seven rebounds to go with his seven blocks and three steals. Of note, Wooster outscored Allegheny by 30 points during Kurt's 24:01 of on-court time.

Other stats to note include seven points and seven rebounds by both Hardaway and sophomore Nick Everett, and six assists by Hardaway.

Wooster shot 42.3 percent (30-of-71) for the game, was 9-of-24 on three-points, and went 8-of-10 at the line.

Allegheny's Caden Hinckley had 15 points, 12 boards, four assists, three steals, and two blocked shots on his line. Roberts Jr., who entered the day 17th in Div. III with 23.2 points per game was held to 14 on 5-of-15 shooting.

The Gators shot just 35.9 percent (23-for-64) from the floor, 7-of-28 on three-pointers, and 7-of-9 at the line.

Of note, Wooster held a 46-37 edge in rebounding and tied its season-low with nine turnovers.

Next, Wooster hosts Hiram College (2-6, 0-3 NCAC) at 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 11.