Bench Shines in No. 13 Wooster’s 74-59 Win at Hiram

HIRAM, Ohio – The 13th-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball team's bench contributions were instrumental in Wednesday's 74-59 win over Hiram College at Price Gymnasium.

Wooster (6-0, 2-0 North Coast Athletic Conference), which climbed three spots in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, saw its bench score 34 points in Wednesday's win. The bench efforts were headlined by 15 points from junior EJ Kapihe, who was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor. Sophomore transfer Robbie Cass made his biggest contributions as a Fighting Scot with nine points. Defensively, first-year Breckman Oakley's three second-half blocks led the highlights at that end of the floor.

Wooster's starters staked the Scots to a 16-7 lead on the strength of a 7-of-9 start from the floor. Junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway's two early triples were a key part of Wooster's torrid start, while senior Ashton Price's full arsenal of scoring capabilities were on full display early. The senior dropped in six points during the team's 7-of-9 stretch.

Price's knack for driving to the basket and fine touch on midrange floaters helped Wooster claim a 39-21 lead with 3:50 to go in the opening half. The senior scored seven points during Wooster's 9-2 stretch. The lead grew to 21 at the 13:13 mark of the second half when senior JJ Cline's jumper from outside the paint dropped in. That followed Oakley swatting aside Hiram (3-4, 0-2 NCAC) standout scorer Trent Jakacki's 3-point try.

Later, Oakley's length led to the first-year blocking another Hiram triple, and Wooster hit from beyond the arc when it got the ball back. Hiram closed in on senior Jamir Billings' drive, leaving Cox-Holloway wide open in the corner. The forward's three ball made it a 64-47 game with 7:50 remaining.

Cass' hot stretch came in the first half. The sophomore's driving layup made it 25-17 with 7:48 on the clock. Another Cass driving layup came 1:18 later, with that bucket extending Wooster's lead to double digits, where it remained for the duration. Cass hit 4-of-6 shots from the field, which included a 3-pointer.

Price's 16 points led Wooster. This week's NCAC Athlete of the Week went 7-of-10 from the floor and had two rebounds. Kapihe followed with 15 points and three rebounds. Cox-Holloway's nine points came on 3-pointers. Billings was the all-around stat filler with six rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

Wooster shot a season-high 58.2 percent (32-of-55) from the field. It marked the program's fifth time above 50 percent in six games. Wooster had 48 points in the paint to Hiram's 26 and blocked five shots on the night.

Ivan Yang's double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds paced Hiram. The Terriers struggled shooting, making just 33.9 percent (21-of-62) of field-goals. Hiram was 5-of-22 from beyond the arc, but did have 36 rebounds to Wooster's 33.

Next, Wooster plays at Case Western Reserve University (3-3) at 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 7.