No. 6 Wooster 10-0 for Fifth Time, Now has 43 10-Game Winning Streaks

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Senior Jamir Billings knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:41 remaining to lift the sixth-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball team to a 45-43 win over NCAA Div. II Hawaii Pacific University on Saturday evening.

Wooster, off to its fifth 10-0 start, did not shoot the ball particularly well, but Hawaii Pacific (6-6) was even colder from the floor. Wooster was 31.6 percent (18-of-57) for the game, while Hawaii Pacific was south of 30 percent at 16-of-57, which included a 0-of-12 start for the night.

Billings hit a pair of go-ahead triples late. The first came with 4:22 remaining when Wooster was trailing for the first time. Jonas Visser's layup with 2:31 to go put Hawaii Pacific back up 43-42, which is where the score stayed until Billings' step-back 3-pointer with 1:41 on the clock. Sherman Brashear had a look at the winner from the right corner at the buzzer, but it was short. Hawaii Pacific was further handcuffed, as it was not in position to send Wooster to the charity stripe via fouling in the closing seconds.

Cold Hawaii Pacific shooting, plus relentless Wooster defense, kept the Sharks off the scoreboard until 9:23 remained in the opening half. Ten Shark turnovers were paired with the 0-of-12 start. Billings and junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway each had two steals during Wooster's 18-0 stretch, while senior Nick Everett and junior Isaac Roeder had one.

Offensively, Billings' floating jumper at 10:08 capped the extended run. Cox-Holloway's defensive success carried over to the offensive end, evidenced by seven of the 18 points. Five of those came on consecutive possessions, as Cox-Holloway had a step on Hawaii Pacific for a driving layup that made it 13-0. Next, Billings found the junior open for a triple to extend the lead to 16-0 at 12:47.

Billings led all players with 13 points, and he had four steals. Cox-Holloway posted a second straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The junior forward matched Billings for high honors in steals at four.

No Shark reached double digits in the scoring column. Brashear's 10 rebounds tied Cox-Holloway for the game-high.

Wooster's other 10-0 starts came during the 1930, 2000-01, 2004-05, and 2010-11 seasons. Overall, this is the 43rd 10-game winning streak for NCAA Div. III's winningest team of the 2000s. This is Wooster's second straight season with a 10-game winning streak, a feat last accomplished during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

Next, Wooster hosts one of small college basketball's oldest in-season events – the E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic. Wooster opens this year's classic against University of Pittsburgh at Bradford (8-0) at 5 p.m. on Sunday, December 29. Babson College (4-4) and Case Western Reserve University (4-5) follow at 7 p.m. Free admission is available for those who bring two new or gently-worn coats to be donated to Goodwill Industries.