Entering the night, Cooper had never reached the 30-point mark during his 46-game career, but he was zoned in against one of the top-tier teams in the league, scoring in a variety of ways, whether it be driving lay-ups, pull-up jumpers, or long 3-pointers to name a few. Cooper finished 14-of-20 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-7 on free throws, in addition to five assists. The 37 points marked the most by a Wooster player since Bryan Nelson also went for 37 against Allegheny College Feb. 5, 2003.
As for the game itself, the Fighting Scots (16-1, 8-0 NCAC) nearly led from wire-to-wire, but had to hold off a late charge by Ohio Wesleyan (10-7, 5-3 NCAC).
At one point during the first half, the Battling Bishops held a 28-27 lead, however, that would be the last time they were ahead as Wooster strung together a 17-5 run (44-33), fueled by nine points from Cooper, and the Scots went into the break up 52-42.
Wooster appeared to have things firmly in control during the second half, leading by as much as 17 (68-51). Ohio Wesleyan chipped away and got it under double-digits for the first time at 81-72, but moments later, the Scots were back up 13 (88-75).
With under 5:00 to play, the Bishops got the margin under 10 for a third time in the second half following Andy Warnock’s second of three 3-pointers on the evening (91-84), and a few possessions later, Ohio Wesleyan attempted to cut the lead to five. However, a Ben Chojnacki 3-pointer was off the mark, and Cooper responded on the other end with a 3-pointer of his own to make it 97-86.
Warnock answered right back with a 3-pointer (97-89), but it never got any closer than eight as Wooster made 6-of-8 free throws during the final 2:32.
In addition to Cooper’s big night, Tim Vandervaart and Kyle Wticuky contributed 15 and 11 points, respectively, for Wooster, while Evan Will collected a game-high nine rebounds in his first career start.
Five Bishops reached double figures, led by Warnock’s 15 points on 6-of-10 field-goal shooting. Providing a significant spark off the bench was Tim Patten, who had 14 tallies, including 4-of-6 3-pointers.
Also noteworthy, the two teams finished with identical field goals and attempts, both shooting 38-of-66 for 57.6 percent. Ohio Wesleyan made 14-of-28 (.500) from outside the arc to the Scots’ 10-of-18 (.556), but at the foul line, Wooster was 17-of-23 (.739) while the Bishops struggled (4-of-11; .364).
Next for the Scots is a trip to Kenyon College (5-12, 2-6 NCAC) on Wednesday night. Please note that the opening tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.