Big Run The Tipping Point as Wooster Tops Suffolk by 20

WINTER PARK, Florida – Core hallmarks of The College of Wooster men's basketball program's identity like toughness and physicality inside were on full display on the opening day of the program's annual Steve Moore Sunshine Classic, and that enabled the Fighting Scots to get back on track with a 75-55 win over Suffolk University (Massachusetts) on Tuesday afternoon at Warden Arena on Rollins College's campus.

Wooster's (3-6) powerful forwards were centerpieces of a game-altering 13-0 stretch that closed out the first half and opened the second half. Sophomore EJ Kapihe started the game-altering stretch with a free throw, and that upped Wooster's lead to 27-22 at the 4:49 mark. Prior to that, Jake Gomez's fastbreak layup had Suffolk (4-4) within 26-22, but those points with 5:15 left on the first-half clock were the last scored by the Rams until nearly a minute went by after halftime.

Kapihe swatted aside a Gomez shot after the free throws, while a steal from senior JJ Cline turned into points when junior Jamir Billings knocked down a mid-range jumper. Cline's play continued with the senior drawing another charge before hitting one of three three-pointers on the day. Sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway's layup following Billings' third steal of the tournament had Wooster up 37-22 at halftime.

Wooster dug in after Suffolk was within 53-46 with 7:34 to play. Cline drained a three-ball following an Everett kick out from inside. The senior was on point again from range two possessions later, with that triple coming after a steal by junior Ashton Price in the corner in Wooster's frontcourt. The lead was 16 after Cline's old-fashion three-point play grew the lead to 64-48 with 4:14 remaining, then Billings canned a pair of late three-pointers to cap the afternoon's highlights.

Everett returned to form, scoring 16 points while not missing a shot from the field. The senior was one of three Scots with at least five boards in the game, and that helped Wooster to a 35-23 dominance in rebounding. Billings and Cline followed with 14 points apiece and they combined to go 10-of-16 from the field. Billings filled the stat sheet with four rebounds, four assists, and four steals, and his next one will move the standout into a tie for the third-most in program history.

Wooster shot 50 percent (26-of-52) for the game and went 14-of-19 at the charity stripe. An 8-2 lead on offensive rebounds helped the Scots to a 13-4 difference in second-chance points, while the Scots had 19 points off turnovers to just eight for the Rams.

Keenan Robertson scored 17 points to lead all players. Suffolk's Nick Verdile followed with 15 points and seven rebounds. Verdile was 6-of-8 and made three three-pointers.

Suffolk shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) for the game and was just 6-of-20 on three-pointers.

In Tuesday's first game, University of Saint Joseph (Connecticut) defeated Bethany Lutheran College (Minnesota) 78-64. USJ's (8-2) Tyree Mitchell scored 24 points and corralled seven rebounds, while Lence Altenor added 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. USJ shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62) for the game and held a 36-29 edge in rebounds. Bethany Lutheran's (7-3) Hunter Nielsen scored 17 points and also had the team-high in rebounds at seven. Nielsen was 7-for-9 from the floor, while overall, Bethany Lutheran came in at 41.8 percent (23-of-55).

Bethany Lutheran and Suffolk play in Wednesday's consolation game at 1 p.m., with Wooster and USJ meeting up at 3 p.m. in the championship.