GAMBIER, Ohio – The College of Wooster men's basketball team turned things around after halftime on both ends of the floor, as the Fighting Scots posted a 60th consecutive win over Kenyon College 79-65 on Wednesday evening at Tomsich Arena.
Junior Jamir Billings came out of halftime on fire, knocking down three straight three-pointers, then senior JJ Cline found sophomore Jaiden Cox-Holloway open for a fourth straight triple. However, Wooster (6-7, 2-2 North Coast Athletic Conference) was not ahead yet, as Kenyon (4-9, 2-2 NCAC) clung to a 43-41 lead at the 17:43 mark.
Senior Nick Everett's length contributed to the game's ultimate turning point. He had Kenyon's Gefen Bar-Cohen tightly guarded, and the Owls' forward could not get a pass off around Everett's lengthy reach. The deflection steal with 14:38 remaining turned into the go-ahead bucket when junior Ashton Price drained a three-pointer to give the Scots a 48-45 cushion. Everett's combination of pure strength and soft touch enabled a rolled-up layup to fall with 13:45 on the clock, and a Price steal and free throws enabled Wooster to gain some separation at 52-47 with 13:28 to play.
Everett then took over inside, with his footwork on an inbounds play leaving him open at the rim for a layup that made it 56-47 near the 12 minute mark. It was 59-48 after Cox-Holloway's triple improved Wooster to 6-of-7 from deep in the second half. Kenyon ultimately was within five before sophomore EJ Kapihe came open on the low block for a Billings pass. The Scots' point guard was on point again on the next possession, this time finding Price, who upped the lead to 69-58 with 4:46 remaining.
Wooster did not gain a lead until the first half's 15:13 mark. Cline's three pointer that pulled Wooster within one was made possible by a Cox-Holloway offensive rebound, which was one of his game- and career-high 11 boards. Another offensive rebound, this time from sophomore Isaac Roeder, was cashed in from behind the arc on the next possession, as Price made it 6-4. Kenyon went on to lead 38-29 at halftime.
Everett and Price combined for 37 points for Wooster. Most of Everett's 19 came from a 7-of-8 night from the floor, while Price got it done at the charity stripe, finishing 10-of-12. Billings had a double-double at 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Cox-Holloway was a point shy of collegiate double-double number one.
Wooster poured in 50 second-half points for the fourth straight game. Wednesday night saw the Scots shoot 59.3 percent (16-of-27) after halftime and that upped the team's percentage to 53.1 percent (26-of-49). The Scots doubled up the Owls 39-18 in rebounding, as Billings' 10 followed Cox-Holloway's 11. The offensive glass saw Wooster triple Kenyon 9-3, and second-chance points were a runaway in the Scots' favor at 14-3.
Bar-Cohen led Kenyon at 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The Owls also had 11 points from Connor Moss and 10 from Anthony Testa, both of whom hit a trio of triples.
Kenyon shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) in the game, thanks to Wooster holding them to juts 9-of-26 from the field after halftime.
Wooster and Wabash College (7-7, 3-2 NCAC) play next with Saturday's 2 p.m. game at Timken Gymnasium marking the first meeting since the thrilling pair of one-point victories in Wooster last season. Wooster won the Feb. 18 meeting 75-74 on alumnus Turner Kurt's buzzer-beating three-pointer, clinching the program's NCAC-leading 19th conference title outright and giving the program the top seed for the NCAC Tournament. Wabash won 81-80 a week later in the championship game of the NCAC Tournament.