Travis Marmon
Sports Editor
The Wooster men’s basketball team earned two conference victories last week to move into second place in the NCAC. Last Wednesday, the Fighting Scots (16-3, 7-3 NCAC) took on Kenyon College (9-10, 3-7 NCAC) in Timken Gymnasium, dispatching them with a balanced attack.
The Lords’ only lead of the game was 2-0 after they won the opening tip-off. From there, Wooster never really dominated, but did control the game. Neither team had a hot shooting night, though the Scots committed a season-low nine turnovers while forcing 15 from Kenyon. Wooster completely out-played the Lords inside, outscoring them 38-22 in the paint as forwards Josh Claytor ’13 and Justin Hallowell ’12 led the team with 18 and 14 points respectively. Two other Scots, Xavier Brown ’15 and Matt Fegan ’12, earned double-digits as well.
Another key difference in the match-up was free throw shooting. Wooster went 19-of-25 from the line, including a perfect 6-for-6 from Fegan, while the Lords made only 11 of 21 shots.
The success made a big difference in what was ultimately a 78-68 win, as the Scots sealed their victory by hitting seven out of eight free throws in the final minute.
On Saturday, Wooster traveled to Hiram, Ohio to take on Hiram College (11-8, 4-6 NCAC) in a tightly contested game that turned into a blowout in the second half. Wooster was behind early, trailing 11-4 after the first five minutes.
Following a time-out, the Scots went on an 11-2 run to take a 15-13 lead with 12 minutes to play in the first half. The teams were close, but Wooster had a lead or tie for the last 11 minutes of the period, with their biggest lead being a 35-26 advantage when Ryan Snyder ’14 hit a three-pointer with less than five minutes left in the half. The Scots entered the locker room up 40-38 after Doug Thorpe made a jumper with 39 seconds left.
The first five-and-a-half minutes of the second half were tight, with the Terriers taking a 53-50 lead with under 15 minutes to play in the game. Jake Mays ’13 made a putback off of a missed shot from Jalen Goodwin ’15 to kick-start a 20-2 run for the Scots that put the game firmly in hand. Hallowell scored ten of the 20 points in the run, while Fegan hit two shots from three-point range as Wooster would score on eight of its next 11 possessions.
Ahead 70-55 with nine minutes left to play, Wooster led by double-digits for the rest of the game, winning 88-73. Hallowell led all scorers with 23 points, while Fegan had 20 himself. The Scots made a season-high 11 three-pointers on the night, while limiting Hiram to just 5-of-22 shooting from beyond the three-point line.
Wooster played at Denison University (8-11, 5-5 NCAC) on Wednesday after press time. Tomorrow, the Scots will host Wabash College (14-5, 6-4 NCAC) at 2 p.m., as they look to avenge a loss to the Little Giants in December.