The College of Wooster, ranked No. 25 in this week's D3hoops.com poll, put together a 16-1 run midway through the second half, breaking open a tied game (51-51) and the Fighting Scots later held off an Ohio Wesleyan University rally for an 80-72 win in the teams' North Coast Athletic Conference opener for the 2009-10 season, played at Delaware, Ohio.

It marked a match-up between the top-two teams in the NCAC from a year ago, when Wooster finished first with a 14-2 league record, one game ahead of Ohio Wesleyan, and the two squads were dead even at 51 through 30 minutes of play on Wednesday night.

Then, the Scots (3-3, 1-0 NCAC) proceeded to score on six of their next seven possessions while holding the Battling Bishops (1-4, 0-1 NCAC) to a single free throw made during that same stretch. Keying Wooster's rally were five points from Ian Franks and two 3-pointers courtesy of Justin Hallowell, the second coming from the right corner and giving the Scots a 67-52 cushion with just under 6:00 left.

The Scots continued to hold a double-digit lead, including bumping it up to 15 again (72-57) on a Brandon Johnson 3-pointer at the 3:34 mark, but Ohio Wesleyan would not go away. The hosts managed to trim the margin to 72-63 with 1:33 remaining before Wooster made 8-of-12 free throws to close it out.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, featuring eight ties and six lead changes. Despite 14 points from Franks, the Bishops entered the break with a slight 35-33 advantage.

The difference in the second half, and the game for that matter, was the Scots' 3-point shooting as they dropped in 7-of-13 from the arc the second 20 minutes (.538) and a season-high 12-of-28 overall (.429). Wooster also outrebounded Ohio Wesleyan 37-32 and limited its turnovers to 11, an improvement over its average of 17.8 entering the game.

Franks tossed in a season-high 26 points, just three off his career best, while making 9-of-14 shots from the field, including 2-of-3 3-pointers, and he contributed a team-best four assists.

Also in double figures were Nathan Balch with 14 points and Hallowell with 13, as they each went 3-of-8 from 3-point range, and with a nine-point effort, Johnson eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career, becoming the 33rd player in program history to do so (1,009).

A pair of freshmen, Marshall Morris and Andy Winters, pumped in 20 points apiece for the Bishops, and Winters also added game highs of five assists and three steals.

Next, the Scots will play the third of five consecutive road games as they travel to Kenyon College (3-3, 0-0 NCAC) Saturday at 3 p.m.