WOOSTER, Ohio – Senior Jamir Billings' 28 points and sixth-ranked College of Wooster men's basketball's 42-22 edge in rebounding enabled the Fighting Scots to post a record ninth straight win over Wittenberg University, 67-57, on Saturday evening at Timken Gymnasium.
Wooster's (12-1, 4-0 North Coast Athletic Conference) latest win over its archrival broke a quartet of eight-game winning streaks for the longest between NCAA Div. III's two winningest teams. Wooster now leads the all-time series 70-60, and the 10-game edge is another new rivalry record.
Wooster outscored Wittenberg (5-7, 1-2 NCAC) 23-13 over the final 10:19, and Billings was the offensive hero. His jumper from just outside the paint broke a 44-44 tie, and that was one of five go-ahead buckets on the night for the senior. Billings won a loose-ball battle with 8:11 to go for his third steal of the contest and capped the fastbreak with a layup that put Wooster ahead 52-44. A Billings driving layup made it 56-46 at 7:09, while his turnaround jumper from outside the paint gave Wooster its largest lead at 63-49 with 4:22 on the clock.
Trey Killens, who accounted for nearly a third of Wittenberg's points, had the Tigers within 63-57 with two minutes remaining. Wooster junior Isaac Roeder's turnaround jumper fell through to up the lead to eight, and Billings capped the night's scoring on the ensuing Wooster possession. While the victory was already secured, junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway put an exclamation point on the milestone rivalry win, rejecting a driving Killens' layup in the closing seconds.
At the onset, neither team could pull away, something synonymous with the rivalry, which features 51 games decided by five points or fewer. Five was the largest lead either side achieved in the first half, with Wittenberg doing so at 7-2, and Wooster at 24-19 and 33-28.
Junior EJ Kapihe found sophomore Robbie Cass open for a 3-pointer that made it 33-28 with 2:04 on the first-half clock. However, Wittenberg was within 33-32 at halftime, riding Killens, who made a floater and a turnaround jumper in the final 90 seconds.
Billings, who stepped into more of a featured scoring role, dropped in a season-high 28 points for his third straight 20-point game. He nearly went the entire game without an assist, but Cox-Holloway's 3-pointer with 5:07 to go changed that. Billings added six rebounds and three steals on the night.
Roeder was next in scoring at 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Cox-Holloway was one of two Wooster players with seven points, and his 14 rebounds were eight shy of Wittenberg's team total.
Wooster shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) for the game and had 15 bench points to just three for Wittenberg.
Killens and Cameron Harrison combined for 31 of Wittenberg's 57 points. Killens had five steals and four assists in the loss.
Wittenberg shot 40.8 percent (20-of-49) and was 4-of-18 on 3-pointers, including just 1-of-11 after halftime.
Next, Wooster heads to Kenyon College (2-10, 0-3 NCAC) for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, January 8.