Wooster Holds Off Hiram, 85-72

WOOSTER, Ohio – Senior Jamir Billings made the clutch shots The College of Wooster men's basketball team needed to keep Hiram College at bay, and in doing so, moved into the top-25 in program history in scoring during Wednesday's 85-72 win over the Terriers at Timken Gymnasium.

While Wooster's (15-4, 7-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) lead reached double digits seven times, Hiram (6-13, 1-9 NCAC) kept within striking distance until the closing minutes. Billings' sixth 3-pointer of the game extended Wooster's lead to 74-64 with 5:00 remaining, and his final triple of the night gave the Scots a double-digit cushion for good for the final 2:20.

First-year Breckman Oakley, who scored all of his collegiate-best 18 points in the second half, ran Wooster's lead to 81-69 in the final minute with a jumper from outside the paint. Free throws made by Oakley, then Billings, kept Hiram from having any chance at threatening in the closing seconds.

Earlier, Hiram pulled even at 30 all with 4:03 remaining in the first half. Free throws from junior Isaac Roeder put Wooster ahead for good, and junior Isaiah Johnson's layup in the final seconds gave the Scots a 37-32 halftime lead.

Aggressiveness attacking the basketball and being in the passing lanes resulted in 14 Wooster steals, the second-most for the Scots this season. Seniors JJ Cline and Nick Everett led the way with four each, while Billings had three to move within four of a top-25 career mark in NCAA Div. III history. Junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway aided the Scots' defense with four blocked shots, and as a team, Wooster swatted aside seven Hiram field goals on the night.

Billings' 27 points were one off a season-best. He passed out eight assists to lead all players. The senior moved past Wooster great Brandon Johnson for 25th on the storied program's scoring list on a 3-pointer with 12:20 left in the first half. Billings ended the night with 1,175 career points.

Oakley was next in scoring at 18 points, while Everett went 8-of-10 at the charity stripe as part of a 12-point night. Everett's eight rebounds took high honors for the game.

Wooster shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) for the game and connected on 13 3-pointers for the second straight outing.

Collin Jones' 15 points led Hiram. Wooster continued to keep Terrier leading scorer Trent Jakacki in check, as he had eight points, about half of his per-game average of 15.2 coming into play.

Hiram shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) for the game and had 45 of its points come from the bench.

Next, Wooster is at Wittenberg University (7-11, 3-6 NCAC) on Saturday, February 1. Tipoff for the 131st meeting between Div. III's two winningest teams is set for 7 p.m.