Wooster Cruises Past Kenyon, Now at 1,800 All-Time Victories

GAMBIER, Ohio – NCAA Div. III's winningest men's basketball team of the 2000s scored its 1,800th all-time victory on Wednesday evening, as The College of Wooster men's basketball team triumphed over Kenyon College 77-53 at Tomsich Arena.

Wooster (16-4, 10-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) capitalized on its ability to deflect the ball away from Kenyon (7-14, 0-12 NCAC) ball handlers and jump the passing lanes. Eleven Wooster steals were logged on the night, including four by sophomore Jamir Billings, who etched his name on the program's top-10 career list with steal 136. The milestone steal came when Billings jumped the passing lane with 15:03 remaining in the opening half, and the ensuing fastbreak layup by the guard gave Wooster a lead that was not relinquished. He upped the career counter to 138 by the midway point of the first half.

Junior Nick Everett powered the offense with his first-career 20-point game. The 6-8 forward went 8-of-11 from the floor and set the tone early by finishing a dish-down pass from Billings that upped Wooster's lead to 16-9 at the 11:20 mark.

Wooster's 15-6 stretch at the second half's onset had the Scots comfortably ahead at 45-29. Everett capped that stretch with a layup, and the Owls finally climbed above 30 points on Jackson Kennedy's free throws with 12:14 to go. Wooster's lead ballooned to 20 for the first time when Everett knocked down a pair of free throws with 7:14 on the clock, and it reached a high of 24 when first-year Isaiah Johnson scored his first varsity bucket, following an assist from classmate Jaiden Cox-Holloway in the closing minute.

Ten Scots found the scoring column, with senior Turner Kurt backing Everett's 20 points up with 14. Junior Carter Warstler, who had seven points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and five steals in his first game at Tomsich Arena, followed that up with a career-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, which included a 3-of-6 night from downtown. Senior Najee Hardaway passed out four assists, while Kurt's seven rebounds led the Scots.

Wooster shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the floor, was 6-of-20 (30 percent) on three-pointers, and more than doubled up Kenyon on paint points, winning there, 46-20.

Kennedy led Kenyon off the bench with 10 points, while Nick Nelson scored nine.

Kenyon shot 34 percent (18-of-53) on the night, was 6-of-24 (25 percent) on three-pointers, and lost its 23-14 halftime rebounding advantage by game's end, thanks to Wooster's 20-10 dominance after halftime.         

Foul trouble limited key Kenyon players, including Gefen Bar-Cohen, the Owls' leading scorer at 15.3 points per game. Bar-Cohen did not score on the night, played just 12 minutes, and exited with 12:37 remaining. Miles Versa, who averaged 11.5 points per game coming into play, scored just six in 14 minutes, and the Owls were without his services for the last eight minutes due to fouling out.

Next, Wooster hosts the only Div. III team with more all-time wins – archrival Wittenberg University (9-10, 5-6 NCAC). The 126th all-time meeting in one of small college basketball's greatest rivalries tips off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 4 at Timken Gymnasium. At halftime, Wooster will recognize its 2002-2003 team, which was the first in program history to advance to the semifinals of the Div. III Championships.