The College of Wooster men's basketball team could not get going in the shooting department in the second half, and that cost the Fighting Scots in Wednesday's 81-72 loss at No. 18 University of Mount Union.

Wooster (2-3) had its 12-point second-half deficit down to one when senior Isaiah Johnson hit a 3-pointer to make it 69-68 inside the game's final four minutes. Mount Union (7-0) answered right back, as Elijah Farrington finished through contact on a driving layup, then made the and-one free throw to push the Purple Raiders' lead back to four. Junior Quincy Jones' hook shot had the Wooster deficit back to two, but that was as close as the Scots came down the stretch.

Wooster trailed 69-58 before rattling off a 10-0 run that started when sophomore Breckman Oakley was fouled with 5:39 on the clock. Following his free throws, senior EJ Kapihe hit from beyond the arc and classmate Isaac Roeder knocked down a pull-up jumper to close Wooster within 69-65.

Back-to-back Wooster 3-pointers had the Scots up 32-22 late in the first half. Roeder hit the first, then Johnson did likewise. Next, Farrington looked for a dunk, only to be denied above the rim by Oakley, who logged his fourth block of the season.

Earlier in the opening half, senior Jaiden Cox-Holloway knocked down Wooster's first 3-pointer of the night to make it 23-19, Scots. That followed a Kapihe stick-back, which gave Wooster its second lead of the night. Jones provided most of Wooster's scoring early, as the transfer had 10 of the Scots' first 18 points. Jones' second-chance lay-in gave Wooster its first lead at 18-16, with that occurring just before the first half's midpoint.

Jones led Wooster with 18 points. Cox-Holloway turned in a second straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Roeder rounded out the Scots in double figures in the scoring column at 14 points. The senior had eight rebounds and led the team with four assists. Johnson was credited with two of Wooster's six steals and Cox-Holloway logged two blocked shots on the night.

Wooster shot 38.1 percent (24-of-63) for the game, but was just 9-of-31 from the floor in the second half. Wooster controlled the glass, outrebounding Mount Union 44-36.

Mount Union's Farrington led all players with 24 points. He was 10-of-11 at the charity stripe and finished a rebound shy of a double-double. Chance Casenhiser followed with 17 points.

The Purple Raiders shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) for the game and had just seven turnovers.

Next, Wooster opens North Coast Athletic Conference play at Oberlin College (5-2, 0-0 NCAC). Tipoff from Oberlin's Philips Gymnasium is set for 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3.