WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Junior Jaiden Cox-Holloway's dynamite afternoon culminated with a career-high 21 points in The College of Wooster men's basketball team's 88-77 win over Otterbein University on Sunday at the Rike Center.
Cox-Holloway went 8-of-10 from the floor on the afternoon, which included a lights-out 5-of-7 showing from beyond the arc. The junior eclipsed his previous career-high of 20 points from last year's game with John Carroll University on a jumper with 3:55 remaining in the game. Senior JJ Cline found Cox-Holloway for that field goal, which put Wooster (2-0) up 78-67.
Wooster built up a 46-34 halftime lead on the strength of a 56.7 (17-of-30) first-half field goal percentage. Included in there was a 7-of-14 team mark on 3-pointers. Cox-Holloway, senior Jamir Billings, and senior Ashton Price each hit two triples in the opening half. Billings' triple that went down with 16:06 remaining in the first half marked the go-ahead bucket.
Wooster's 3-pointers built the lead out to 21-13 at the first half's 11:49 mark. Billings started Wooster's 7-0 run with a 3-ball. Next, Price connected from long range in transition, finishing a feed from junior Isaiah Johnson, who secured a defensive rebound at the other end.
The 3-pointers kept falling for Wooster in the second stanza, enabling the Fighting Scots to gain separation with a 12-0 run. Cox-Holloway knocked down a trio of his triples during the run, while senior Nick Everett scored three points the old-fashioned way. Cox-Holloway was just as active defensively with his first steal of the afternoon during the 12-0 scoring spree. The junior's final bucket of the run upped Wooster's lead to 59-41 with 15:17 left in Sunday's contest.
Sophomore Robbie Cass's second-half contributions were another key in Wooster's win. The guard finished through contact on a driving layup with 11:22 to go prior to converting the and-one free throw. Then, he picked off a Noah Gamble pass and made the fastbreak layup to up Wooster's lead to 70-48 as the clock hit 9:25.
Price added a second straight 20-point game to start the year. He led Wooster with 22 points, getting the job done at the charity stripe, evidenced by a 10-of-12 showing. Billings followed the 20-point duo with 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Junior EJ Kapihe topped the leaderboard with eight rebounds.
Wooster shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the floor for the game and ended the afternoon 11-of-23 (47.8 percent) on 3-pointers.
Cam Evans led all players with 23 points. Jared Kreager followed with 11 points.
Otterbein (1-1) shot 38.9 percent (21-of-54) for the game and outrebounded Wooster 36-32.
Next, Wooster hosts the program's annual Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic. The classic starts with Friday's 5:30 p.m. game between Bluffton University (0-2) and 19th-ranked University of Mount Union (2-1). Wooster takes on La Roche University (0-4) in Friday's nightcap. Fans can gain free admission with the donation of two boxed or canned food items each day that will be donated to People to People Ministries' food pantry.
