Wooster (17-2, 10-1 NCAC) held the lead over the final 12:34 of the first half, but was unable to build any separation from the pesky Lords (7-13, 4-7 NCAC), and owned a slim 40-35 edge at the break.
In the second half, though, the Scots got hot from outside, highlighted by a stretch of three-straight three-pointers – one via Kyle Witucky and then two consecutive from Rodney Mitchell – which extended their lead from 48-39 to 57-41.
Wooster, which also played better defense in the second half, never allowed the margin to dip into single digits the rest of the way. The Scots held Kenyon to 9-of-20 (.450) field-goal shooting, compared to a 14-of-26 (.538) performance in the first half, and outrebounded the Lords by a count of 23-7 during the second 20 minutes after owning just a 17-12 edge in that category at halftime.
Offensively, Tom Port continued his hot play of late, as the reigning NCAC Player of the Week went for 23 points, hitting 8-of-14 from the floor, including three three-pointers in the second half alone. Port is averaging 18.0 points and 7.6 rebounds over Wooster’s last five games.
Mitchell continued his stellar senior campaign, tallying 14 points, including 4-of-6 from the arc, and a team-high eight boards, which marks the third time the 5-10 guard has led the Scots in rebounding during 2003-04.
Mitchell’s starting backcourt mate, Witucky, added 13 points, while also reaching double figures were big men Blake Mealer and Matt Schlingman with 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
Kenyon’s top performer was shooting guard Matt Formato, who finished one point shy of 30. He all but single-handily kept the Lords within striking distance in the first half, making 4-of-5 three-pointers, and finished 10-of-13 from the field for the game.
Wooster will try to extend its five-game winning streak this weekend, when it takes its longest road trip of the season. The Scots will play conference foe Wabash College (8-12, 6-5 NCAC) on Saturday (Feb. 7) at 2 p.m.