Early Run, Triples Lift Wooster Past Oberlin, 83-59

OBERLIN, Ohio – This time, The College of Wooster men's basketball team had the lengthy run, and it came early, as the Fighting Scots snapped a rare three-game slide with a balanced 83-59 win at Oberlin College on Saturday afternoon.

Wooster (14-4, 6-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) opened a 21-3 lead with an 18-0 stretch. Outside shooting was where Wooster excelled, as the first 15 points for the Scots came from beyond the arc. Nine of those were from senior Jamir Billings, who was playing his final regular season game just down the road from his hometown of Lorain. Billings' third triple made it 15-3, and it capped the Scots' 5-of-7 start from beyond the arc.

Later, first-year Breckman Oakley found junior Isaiah Johnson open for a 15-footer in the soft spot of Oberlin's (10-8, 2-7 NCAC) two-three zone. Johnson's midrange jumper upped Wooster's run to 16-0, and it reached 18 when senior JJ Cline poked the ball away from Oberlin's JJ Gray, leading to a Johnson bucket.

The ultimate turning point in Saturday's win came from Oakley. The first-year's 3-pointer with 18:17 remaining made it 38-30 and kickstarted Wooster's 8-0 run. Oakley's length led to a steal on Oberlin's next possession, and persistence on the offensive glass resulted in Nick Everett free throws. After a Billings steal, the Scots' point guard found Cline open for a triple to cap the 8-0 stretch with Wooster's lead pushed to 43-30 at 15:44.

Three-pointers kept falling for Wooster at the second half's midpoint. Oberlin's zone crashed on junior EJ Kapihe, then classmate Isaac Roeder. That left Billings wide open at the top both times, and the senior was spot on. His fifth triple of the game made it 65-45 with 7:29 to go, then Cline's 3-pointer ran the score to 68-47 on the next possession.

Kapihe took over in the final minutes, scoring eight points in a 10-point stretch for Wooster. His fader in traffic made it 78-54 with 2:43 to go and were part of a 10-5 Wooster stretch.

A season-high six players scored in double figures for Wooster, led by Billings' 15 points. Everett followed with 13, Cox-Holloway added 12, Cline tallied 11, and Johnson and Kapihe both ended the day at 10. Billings and Everett shared high honors in rebounding with six each and led Wooster to a 37-23 advantage on the glass. Billings and Cox-Holloway passed out four assists, and Oakley had two of Wooster's five blocked shots.

Wooster shot 50 percent (29-of-58) for the game and made 13 triples, the second-most by the Scots this season. Wooster was 12-of-14 at the line and cut down on the post-halftime miscues, with just three turnovers in the final 20 minutes.

Gray's 27 points led all players. Oberlin's leader shot 10-of-15 for the game. The rest of the Yeomen were just 13-of-37, leading to an overall 44.2 field-goal percentage (23-of-52).

Next, Wooster hosts Hiram College (6-12, 1-8 NCAC) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29.