Wooster Drops Road Contest at Former Ohio Athletic Conference Rival

ALLIANCE, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team could not find any sustained offensive rhythm, while the fifth-ranked University of Mount Union shut down the Fighting Scots' top three scorers in the Purple Raiders' 75-51 Wednesday evening win at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex.

Wooster's (1-4) bright spot came from sophomore Isaac Roeder, who dropped in eight points during his first stretch on the court. The guard tied the game at nine on a three-pointer at the 15:03 mark, then hit again from range on the next offensive possession. Two free throws from Roeder at the 13:27 mark capped the sophomore's personal 8-0 run, and the 14-9 lead was Wooster's biggest of the night.

Mount Union (5-0) came right back, taking the lead for good with 12:29 remaining in the first half on Jahill Graham's three-pointer. Wooster senior JJ Cline's three-pointer with 3:04 left on the first-half clock had the Scots within 28-25, and a dunk in transition from sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway again had the deficit down to three at 30-27. Mount Union took control, stringing a 12-0 run together that spanned the end of the first half and start of the second, and when that was done, the Purple Raiders' lead was 15 at 42-27.

Mount Union held Wooster to 28.6 percent shooting (20-for-70) and the Purple Raiders were staunch protectors of the rim with eight blocked shots on the night. Nearly all of Wooster's looks were heavily contested, and that resulted in the Scots' top three scorers having just 10 points in the loss. Others stepped up, like Cline, who reached 10 points for the game on a turnaround jumper in the middle of the key late in the second half. Sophomore Isaiah Johnson displayed a fine touch around the rim with nine points, eight of which came on floaters and driving layups. Roeder followed with eight points.

Junior Jamir Billings' six rebounds and six assists led Wooster. Sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway followed with five rebounds.

Dante Collier's sharpshooting lifted Mount Union from the bench. He scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, which included a 5-for-9 night from beyond the arc. Collen Gurley followed with 18 points, while Caleb Laurich had high honors in rebounding at nine.

Mount Union shot 45.3 percent (29-for-64) for the game and was 11-for-30 for 36.7 percent on three-pointers. The Purple Raiders' 49 rebounds were six more than the Scots' haul for the night. Mount Union did get after it in transition, outscoring Wooster 13-5 on fastbreak points.

Next, Wooster opens North Coast Athletic Conference play with a 7 p.m. home game against Ohio Wesleyan University (1-4) on Wednesday, November 29.