Wooster Holds Off Kenyon's Late Rally, Wins 82-76

WOOSTER, Ohio – Junior EJ Kapihe's offensive rebound and second-chance layup with 38 seconds remaining halted Kenyon College's comeback, as The College of Wooster men's basketball team hung on for an 82-76 win on Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.

Kenyon (5-16, 3-9 North Coast Athletic Conference) trailed by 12 with 2:06 remaining and closed within 79-76 when Marius Mazeika knocked down a 3-pointer with 50 seconds to go. Following Kapihe's crucial bucket, Wooster (16-5, 8-4 NCAC) tightly contested the 3-point line, forcing Kenyon into desperation shots. Kapihe's equally important rebound with 24 seconds remaining enabled the junior to get to the line, where he made it a six-point game. Kenyon missed three desperation 3-pointers in the closing seconds before first-year Breckman Oakley secured the game-clinching defensive rebound.

Wooster built its lead up behind seniors Nick Everett and Ashton Price in the second half. Everett's putback with 18:26 to go made it a 42-35. Senior Jamir Billings stripped Nick Nelson, leading to good offensive set for the Scots. Senior JJ Cline found Everett down low for a layup that made it 44-35, and the lead was back to nine at 46-37 once Price knocked down a jumper from just inside the arc.

Billings found an open Cline for a triple that made it 54-40 with 14:16 remaining, and Wooster's lead climbed as high as 16 on a Kapihe layup, and later, Oakley free throws. With just inside five minutes remaining, Price was fouled on a 3-point try and knocked down all three free throws to give Wooster a 71-57 lead. Oakley's driving layup pushed the advantage back to 14 with 3:30 to go.

Kenyon's furious rally started with inside two minutes remaining. Charlie Haywood's free throws started Kenyon's 10-0 run that ended with Kapihe's stickback.

In the first half, Cline nearly outrebounded Kenyon's entire team. His three offensive rebounds were part of a seven-board effort, and the Owls managed to get just nine rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Two of Cline's boards were cashed in for second-chance points. Everett's layup came off a Price assist with 3:22 left that had Wooster on top 36-27. Junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway found his way to the rim aided by a Billings pass following Cline's second offensive board of the night. Wooster eventually took a 40-33 halftime lead.

Everett logged his sixth 20-point game of the year. He was 8-of-9 from the floor and had four rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end. Price followed with 17 points, which included a perfect 7-of-7 night at the charity stripe. Cline led all players with 12 rebounds and five assists. Billings ended the night with six points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Wooster shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) for the game, finished with a 20-6 lead in second-chance points, and outscored Kenyon 42-22 in the paint.

Mazeika's 23 points led all players. He was 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. Gefen Bar-Cohen followed with 18 points.

Kenyon shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) for the game and was outrebounded 38-26.

Next, Wabash College (13-7, 9-2 NCAC) is at Timken Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, February 8.