Sixth-Ranked Scots Off to Best Start Since Historic 2010-11 Season

HONOLULU, Hawaii – The sixth-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball team pulled away from Johnson & Wales University Providence in Wednesday's 84-63 win in Hawaii to improve to 9-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 season, which saw the Fighting Scots finish the year as the NCAA Div. III national runner-up.

Wooster, up two spots in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll for its highest ranking since coming in at No. 5 early in the 2014-15 season, seized control with an early 9-0 run. Wooster pulled ahead on junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway's fastbreak driving layup at the first half's 16:00 mark. The transition opportunity came courtesy of one of senior Jamir Billings' seven steals. Senior Nick Everett upped Wooster's lead to 11-7 on the next possession, while one of first-year Breckman Oakley's two first-half triples capped the run.

Senior Nick Everett turned in his best game of the season, finishing with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field. Wooster's star forward was 6-of-7 from the floor in the opening half as part of a 13-point effort. That helped Wooster open a commanding 48-30 lead at the break.

Wooster maintained its double-digit lead for the entirety of the second half. Johnson & Wales (2-6) was within 66-55 with 7:30 remaining. Cox-Holloway read a pass from RJ Jones for a steal, then made a fastbreak free throw to up the lead back to a dozen. Later, offensive rebounds from senior JJ Cline and junior Isaac Roeder led to a Cox-Holloway driving layup and a Billings' 3-pointer, which upped the lead to 73-56 with 4:23 on the clock.

Billings turned in one of his most complete games with 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals, and four assists. The seven steals trail just the school-record 10 he had against Hiram College in 2022, and it is the fifth time Billings has had at least seven in a game. Fifteen of Billings' 19 points came on 3-pointers.

Cox-Holloway recorded double-double one of the year with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Cox-Holloway's 11 rebounds ranked one off a season-high.

Wooster, which had the sixth-best field-goal percentage in Div. III coming into play, shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) for the game. The Scots had 24 points off turnovers and 36 points in the paint.

Johnson & Wales' Izaiah Shaw-Glen scored 16 points and had four steals. The Wildcats shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor and were just 7-of-22 on 3-pointers.

Next, Wooster plays Div. II Hawaii Pacific University (5-4). Tipoff is scheduled for 1 a.m. ET (Ohio time) on Sunday, December 22, which is 8 p.m. HT (Hawaii time) on Saturday, December 21.