Heading into Sunday’s game, both squads were right around the century mark in scoring on the season, with Westminster at 107.1 and the Scots at 98.1 points per game, and neither team disappointed as the two set a Timken Gym record for points in a game (243), smashing the previous high of 230 achieved by Kenyon College (118) and the Scots (112) on Dec. 9, 1969.
Wooster, which set a single-game scoring record (150) against Emory & Henry University on the road earlier this season, handled the Titan’s run-and-gun style of play with ease in the first 20 minutes, thanks in large part to a superb shooting effort from beyond the arc. The Scots nailed 11-of-18 trifecatas (61.1 percent) in the opening stanza alone, powered by James Cooper’s 5-of-6 effort, and held a 19-point advantage (70-51) at the break.
The lead quickly evaporated early in the second half as Westminster opened the period with a 30-14 run behind Mark DeMonaco and Craig Hannon, who each connected on three shots from deep. Following a pair of free throws by the Titans’ Jake Zatchok, Wooster’s advantage was just three (84-81) at 13:23.
Port, who had already tallied six points in the period, took over from there, connecting on three big buckets, including an impressive one-handed slam off an alley-oop by Cooper, and a pair of free throws to push the lead back to nine (95-86) around the 10 minute mark.
Westminster hung around, maintaining the nine-point deficit for the next minute, but a layup by Port at 8:44, which pushed him over the 1,000-point plateau, gave Wooster the double-digit lead (101-90) for good.
The hot-shooting Titans cooled off for the remaining time, cutting the lead to 10 just once (105-95 at 7:35) on four consecutive free throws by DeMonaco, while the Scots steadily increased the advantage, pushing it to as many as 24 (129-105 at 48 seconds) before settling for the final 23-point margin.
Port finished with 32 points, one shy of his career-high achieved against Emory & Henry earlier this season, on 13-of-18 shooting from the field. He also led the way with a game-high 10 rebounds. Not to be outdone, Cooper set a career standard with 28 tallies, including 23 in the first half alone, on 11-of-18 shooting and dished out five assists.
Also scoring in double figures for the Scots were junior Tim Vandervaart, freshman Brandon Johnson, and sophomore Devin Fulk, who netted 19, 12, and 11 points, respectively, while senior Kyle Witucky chipped in with eight points and eight assists and committed no turnovers against the Titans’ pressing defense.
Hannon led Westminster with 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, including eight 3-pointers, while DeMonaco netted 22 points. Steve Bielich and Chauncy Whitlow were also in double figures for the Titans with 18 and 15 points, respectively, and combined for 13 rebounds.
With 133 points, Wooster tied a 34-year old Timken record for points scored in a game as the 1971 squad achieved the same feat against Wilberforce University. The Scots shot a blistering 64.1 percent from the field (50-of-78), including 12-of-24 from beyond the arc. Westminster, which connected on 19-of-52 trifectas, set a season-high for shooting from the field by nailing nearly 50 percent (48.6) of their total attempts (35-of-72).
Wooster resumes action on Dec. 29-30 when it hosts the “Mose” Hole/Kiwanis Tournament at Timken. Lycoming College and Thiel College kicks things off at 5:30 p.m. on the 29th, while the Scots face off with nationally-ranked Baldwin-Wallace College at 7:30 p.m.