The College of Wooster, ranked as NCAA Div. III's No. 1 team (D3hoops.com) for the ninth week in a row, built an 11-point lead a couple of times during the second half, but had to hold off Hiram College by connecting on 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch as the Fighting Scots came away from Price Gymnasium in Hiram, Ohio, with a 70-64 North Coast Athletic Conference victory Thursday night.

Wooster (20-0, 11-0 NCAC) was ahead 61-50 with just over 5:00 remaining when Hiram (10-10, 4-7 NCAC) took advantage of a series of Scot turnovers, three in all, part of an 11-3 run that set up an interesting final minute.

With it a one-possession game (64-61), Wooster's Ian Franks drew a foul and made one of the ensuing free throws to push the lead out to four. On the other end of the floor, the Terriers also earned a trip to the charity stripe with 28.9 seconds showing on the clock, however, they misfired on both attempts and were forced to foul.

At the 25.1 mark, Nathan Balch got to the line and sunk both to make it a seemingly insurmountable 67-61 advantage, but Babajide Eniola of Hiram tipped in an offensive rebound while being fouled with 14.1 seconds left. Eniola finished the three-point play, thus pulling the hosts within a single possession again (67-64).

The Scots successfully in-bounded the ball to Balch, who was quickly fouled. The senior guard canned both free throws for a 69-64 cushion with 11.9 seconds to play, and the Terriers came up empty on their next possession, effectively sealing the outcome as Wooster notched its 20th win in as many tries this year.

Wooster, which led 34-33 after a back-and-forth first half, hit 18-of-23 free throws during the second, which was the difference in the game. The Scots finished below their season percentage (.765), but their overall 23-of-33 effort (.697) outmatched Hiram's 7-of-17 (.412).

The defensive effort saw Wooster limit the Terriers to 36.2 percent from the field (.362) and the Scots owned a slight 39-36 advantage on the glass, despite 15 offensive rebounds for Hiram. Fifteen turnovers, the most Wooster's committed since Jan. 1, were also a key factor in the game.

Four Scots reached double figures, paced by Balch's 20 points. It marked his fifth 20-point game of the season and three have come over the last six outings.

Franks put 13 tallies in the scorebook and was one rebound shy of a double-double, while also leading the team with four assists. Bryan Wickliffe chipped in 11 points, despite being saddled with foul trouble, and Josh Claytor came up with 10 important points off the bench, his second-highest total of the year.

Wooster will play again in less than 48 hours, as it welcomes No. 15 Wabash College (16-4, 8-4 NCAC) to Timken Gymnasium for a battle of nationally-ranked teams Saturday at 2 p.m.