WOOSTER, Ohio – Justin Hallowell connected on eight 3-pointers, the second of which broke the North Coast Athletic Conference record for most makes for a career, and led The College of Wooster, ranked 22nd in this week's D3hoops.com top-25, to a definitive 91-61 triumph over Allegheny College Wednesday night at Timken Gymnasium.
The victory means that Wooster (20-4, 11-4 NCAC) has won 20 games for the 16th season in a row, the longest active streak in NCAA Div. III, and it also sewed up the No. 2 seed for the NCAC Tournament.
Hallowell's record-breaking 3-pointer came during a first half that saw the Fighting Scots trail for all but one possession of the opening 16 minutes. Down by eight points for the fourth time at 27-19, Hallowell received a pass from post Josh Claytor and sunk a 3-ball a few steps to the right of the top of the key for his 276th career 3-pointer, surpassing Kenyon College's Jamie Harless (275; 1991-95).
Shortly after that, with Wooster behind 31-24, Hallowell made another from behind the arc to kick start a 19-4 run during the final 5:17 of the half. That stretch included 10 points from Doug Thorpe, as the Scots went up 43-35 at the break.
Wooster's defense was the story early in the second half, limiting Allegheny (5-19, 3-12 NCAC) to four points the opening seven minutes, which allowed the Scots to open up a 20-point cushion (59-39).
From there, the margin never dipped under 16 as Wooster cruised to the 30-point win.
Among the statistical highlights for the Scots, they made 14 3-pointers and 60.9 percent from 3-point land, both season highs. The 24 assists also marked a season best, coming on 31 field goals and a .574 rate overall from the floor, while the Gators wound up at 37.7 percent field-goal shooting. Wooster also emerged with the upper hand in rebounding (38-30).
Hallowell's eight 3-pointers marked the second time he has hit that many in a game, just one short of the team record, as he now has 283 for his career. The senior forward scored a season-high 28 points and recorded a game-high 10 rebounds for a third consecutive double-double.
Xavier Brown put up a very balanced line of 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while Thorpe and Claytor also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Also of note, Jalen Goodwin distributed a game- and season-high six assists and Matt Fegan five for the Scots.
Devone McLeod paced Allegheny with 18 points.
Wooster closes out the regular season Saturday with a visit from DePauw University (13-11, 7-8 NCAC). Prior to the 3 p.m. tip-off, the Scots will honor their three senior starters – Fegan, Hallowell, and Justin Warnes – as they make their final regular season appearance at Timken Gym.