WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster built a 22-point lead 10 minutes into Saturday night's action, then weathered a couple of mini-rallies by Bethany (W. Va.) College before winning going away by a final of 79-52 as part of the Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic at Timken Gymnasium.

The 16th annual event was a single-day, two-game affair, with the University of Northwestern Ohio holding off Miami University Middletown 84-78 during the opener, instead of the traditional, two-day tournament format.

After Bethany (1-2) and Wooster (2-0) traded 3-pointers during the first 90 seconds, the Fighting Scots quickly took control. They looked to be in mid-season form, using crisp ball movement and sharp shooting while accounting for 23 of the game's next 24 points to build a 26-4 lead. The opening stretch included eight points from Ian Franks, six from Matt Fegan on a couple of 3-balls, and five from Justin Warnes.

The Bison got their offense going a little as the two teams traded baskets for much of the rest of the first half. The visitors did score seven of the last nine points, including a Nick Wilcox 3-pointer at the buzzer, which trimmed the lead to 15 (41-26).

Continuing to hold the momentum, Bethany crept closer early in the second, pulling within 11 twice, and at 46-35, it had two possessions to make it a single-digit margin. Wooster's defense held the Bison off the board, and moments later, the Scots began what would turn out to be a game-clinching 17-3 run.

Overall, Wooster limited Bethany to just 31.7 percent shooting from the field (19-for-60) and owned a 42-31 rebounding advantage to overcome a pedestrian .417 field-goal rate (20-for-48). The Scots did knock down 12-of-24 3-pointers and made a living at the free throw line, where they sunk 27-of-34 (.794).

Nathan Balch spent the most time at the charity stripe, making all 11 of his attempts en route to a game-high 21 points. He also led the way with four assists.

Franks chipped in 18 points, 14 coming during the first half, and led all players with seven rebounds, and he was selected as the game's Most Outstanding Player.

Also for Wooster, Justin Hallowell made 3-of-6 3-pointers as part of a 10-point effort.

The Scots will not compete again until after the Thanksgiving holiday, when they head over to Pittsburgh for the Carnegie Mellon Invitational. There, Wooster will play Ohio Northern University (0-0) Saturday at 1 p.m.