GRANVILLE, Ohio – It was a tale of two halves on Saturday for The College of Wooster men's basketball team, which shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half, then only made 33.3 percent of its second-half field goals, resulting in a 91-75 win by Denison University over the Fighting Scots at Livingston Gymnasium.

Junior Jamir Billings' torrid shooting had Wooster (2-5, 1-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) ahead in the first half. The Scots' point guard took over with 5:00 remaining and knocked down four consecutive three-pointers during Wooster's 14-0 run over 2:41 of game time. Sophomore Isaiah Johnson found Billings in the soft spot of Denison's 1-3-1 zone coming out of a timeout, then the Scots' point guard hit from the wing the next time up the court. On the third possession, the Big Red chased after a driving JJ Cline, leaving Billings open at the top. Then, senior Nick Everett found Billings for the fourth triple that made it 37-33 with 2:50 to go. The run continued when sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway found a cutting Johnson for a layup that had the lead out to 39-33.

Billings' three-point barrage was part of six straight field goals from Wooster that came from beyond in the arc. The guard kicked off the stretch with his first triple of the game that had Wooster within 25-22, then two possessions later, Cline was open on the wing to pull the Scots within 28-25 with 6:42 on the clock.

The second half was a different story, as Wooster did not get many stops. Denison (4-4, 2-0 NCAC) shot 65.5 percent from the floor and capitalized on Wooster's turnovers. A 12-2 stretch spanning 2:11, during which Wooster turned the ball over three times, enabled the Big Red to take control. Aidan King's bucket with 8:11 remaining capped that run and gave the Big Red a 70-56 cushion.

Billings' season-high 22 points marked the top total on the afternoon on both sides. The junior was 8-of-14 from the floor, which included a 6-of-10 showing from three-point range. Junior Ashton Price followed with 15 points, while Everett led the team with five rebounds.

Wooster finished the game at 49 percent (25-of-51) shooting. The Scots were 16-of-24 in the first half and just 9-of-27 after halftime. It was a similar story on three-pointers, with Wooster knocking down 8-of-13 in the opening 20 minutes before finishing the day 11-of-24.

King led Denison with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Cameron Smith was a big presence for the Big Red in other areas with four assists and four steals. Ricky Radtke overcame first-half foul trouble to finish with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Denison shot 57.4 percent (35-of-61) for the game and was 12-of-30 (40 percent) on three-pointers. The Big Red maximized opportunities following 13 second-half turnovers by the Scots and that led to a 30-16 differential in points off turnovers.

The exciting back-and-forth first half saw the NCAC rivals exchange the lead 11 times.

Wooster has a break for finals week and returns to action on Sunday, December 10 with a 1 p.m. game at DePauw University (3-4, 0-2 NCAC).