Wooster Routs Oberlin, Wins 28th Straight NCAC Quarterfinal

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team raced out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back in Tuesday's 97-80 win over Oberlin College in the quarterfinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Timken Gymnasium. The win marked the program's 28th straight quarterfinal victory and Wooster hit 20 wins for the 26th time in the last 28 full seasons.

With its win, Wooster (20-6) takes on Wabash College (17-8) at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28 at Denison University. NCAC champion Denison (22-3) plays fourth-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University (15-11) in the 7:30 p.m. semifinal. Ohio Wesleyan beat fifth-seeded DePauw University (13-13) 74-71 in Tuesday's other quarterfinal. Denison and Wabash had byes to the semifinals with the NCAC's new six-team tournament format.

Wooster made 14 of its first 18 field goals, which opened a 28-11 lead at the first stanza's 10:46 mark. Senior Nick Everett dropped in six of his game-high 19 points in the 11-0 opening stretch. The final Everett bucket came on a tip-in layup, and capped the Fighting Scots' 5-of-8 start from the field.

Wooster's lead reached 16-2, thanks to senior Ashton Price. Wooster's leading scorer's jumper fell from outside the paint at 16:15, and he hit a corner 3-pointer that made it 16-2 just over five minutes into the contest. Junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway's driving layup upped the blowout to 28-11 and capped the 14-of-18 start from the field.

Cox-Holloway stayed hot, knocking down a 3-pointer that made it 32-11, and Price came away with a steal on an errant Rob Magner pass on Oberlin's next possession. Senior JJ Cline found an open Price for yet another triple following the steal. Wooster's lead reached 32 at 50-18 when senior Isaiah Johnson's deflection in the passing lane caused a fourth Yuuki Okubo turnover. Johnson gathered possession following the deflection and capped the fastbreak with a dunk.

Near the end of the first half, a Johnson 3-pointer made it 53-24. Even Everett got in on the 3-point parade, connecting from the corner to make it 57-24 with inside a minute to go in the first half. Wooster ended the stanza 62.2 percent (23-of-37) from the floor and even better, at 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from beyond the arc.

Ten players scored for Wooster in the second half, where 28 of the team's 40 points came from the bench. Juniors Isaac Roeder and EJ Kapihe each scored seven in the second half. Wooster's best run came early, thanks to the leading bench duo. First-year Breckman Oakley saw an extended stretch running the point for Wooster, and he found an open Roeder for a 3-pointer that had Wooster ahead 70-39 with 13:47 remaining. Next, Johnson found Kapihe in the paint, and the Scots' backup five man outworked the Yeomen (13-13) for the layup. Price's second chance jumper made it 76-41 with 11:49 remaining, and Wooster primarily relied on its bench from there.

Everett went 7-of-8 from the field and moved into the program's top-25 in all-time scoring. He reached 1,190 points and is now 24th in program history. Price followed with 17 points, while Roeder (12), Kapihe (11), and Cox-Holloway (10) all finished in double figures in the scoring column. Everett's seven rebounds led all players, while Price dished out five assists, two shy of his career-best.

Wooster shot 51.4 percent (36-of-70) for the game, 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from downtown, and had a 42-37 edge in rebounding.

Oberlin was led by Okubo's 17 points, most of which came against Wooster's bench in the second half. Div. III's No. 3-ranked assist-to-turnover ratio player had six miscues in the turnover column, but rebounded against the bench to finish with six assists. Andrew Gannon added 11 points for Oberlin.

The Yeomen shot 40.3 percent (29-of-72) for the game, went just 8-of-27 from beyond the arc, and struggled from the line, making just two out of three at the line.

Tickets to Friday's semifinals are $7 per game for adults, including seniors, $5 for children (18-and-under), $5 for holders of a NCAC Guest Pass, and $5 for college students without a NCAC institution ID. Students who attend Wooster, and any NCAC institution, are admitted free of charge, but must present their student identification card at the ticket booth. As Livingston Gymnasium is a lower-capacity venue, the gym will be cleared between semifinal contests and a separate ticket will need to be purchased for those wishing to attend both semifinal contests.