WOOSTER, Ohio – The 13th-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball team had a pair of 20-point scorers for the seventh time this season, surpassed 100 points for the fifth time, and nearly doubled up on Kenyon College in the second half during a 105-67 win on Wednesday evening at Timken Gymnasium.
Wooster (17-3, 12-1 North Coast Athletic Conference), now winners of 10 straight games for the 40th time in program history and 27th time under legendary head coach Steve Moore, made 11 of its first 14 second-half field goals to pull comfortably ahead of Kenyon (1-19, 0-13 NCAC). Senior Reece Dupler started a stretch of seven straight makes during the midst of the span at the 15:32 mark when he beat the Lords down the floor. He was left wide open for a lead pass from classmate Eric Bulic.
Bulic's contributions in the assist column carried over to the next possession, as the senior found freshman Khaylen Mahdi on the perimeter for a spot-up three-pointer. Next, sophomore Keonn Scott knocked down a pair of jumpers, the second on a helper by junior Danyon Hempy, who went on to reverse roles with Scott on the next possession. Hempy and Scott were equally as impressive defensively with a steal each before Scott's jumper at the 11:19 mark made it a 79-46 game.
At the 2:44 mark, freshman Brandon Styers bumped Wooster over the century mark with a spot-up jumper on an inbounds feed from classmate Hamilton Johnson. That marked the Scots' fifth time over 100 points this season, and it's the most since the 2005-06 squad did so 12 times.
Wooster, which had a 51-39 lead at halftime, turned in its strongest stretch of the opening period around the 8:00 mark. Mahdi's hustle equated to an offensive rebound, and Hempy was spot on from range to kick-start a 9-0 stretch. Hempy's run of big plays continued with a steal, and he capped the fast-break with a lay-in to up the lead to 37-27.
Scott's jumper and Hempy's two free throws capped the run with Wooster on top 41-27. Bulic later upped the lead to 17 on two free throws at the 2:39 mark, but the Lords' six first-half three-pointers kept Kenyon in the hunt at the break.
Hempy poured in a game-high 24 points for his fifth 20-point game in a row, and in doing so, the junior surpassed 400 points on the season. The Scots' leading scorer added six rebounds, two assists, and two steals in the game.
Scott was right behind with a co-career-high 22 tallies in the scoring column, 12 of which came on three-pointers, where the sophomore was 4-for-6 on the night. Dupler (12) and Williams (10) rounded out the scorers in double figures, while Williams' seven rebounds led all players.
Other noteworthy individual performances included a career night from Mahdi, who finished with nine points, five rebounds, and a game-high four assists.
Wooster canned a season-high 60 percent (42-for-70) of its field goals on the night, and the Scots were very consistent throughout. In the first half, Wooster converted 20-of-33 shots, while the second half featured a 22-for-37 showing.
Of note, Wooster only turned it over seven times on the night and has now had fewer than 10 turnovers in three straight games, and five of the last six.
Carter Powell led Kenyon with 20 points, 17 of which came in the first half. Alex Cate had the team-high in rebounds with six.
After shooting a lights-out 59.3 percent (16-for-27) in the first half, the Lords cooled off to 34.4 percent (11-for-32) after halftime to finish the night at 45.8 percent (27-for-59). Kenyon turned the ball over 17 times.
Next, Wooster's at Ohio Wesleyan University (11-9, 6-7 NCAC) for a 3 p.m. tilt on Saturday.