The University of Hartford, formerly a NCAA Div. I school, leaned heavily on its two Div. I transfers to upend The College of Wooster men's basketball team 89-84 on Friday evening in the teams' 2025-26 lid-lifter.

Wooster (0-1), which played its earliest game since the NCAA moved up the permissible start date a few years back, led 60-50 with 10:16 remaining. Sophomore Si Kielian found classmate Breckman Oakley open on the wing for a 3-pointer that made it 58-50. Kielian then stole the ball from Reggie Selden for his third steal of the night prior to making a fastbreak layup to give the Fighting Scots the 10-point lead.

Drew Stack, who arrived in Hartford by way of the University of Portland, and Kyle Winters, who started his collegiate career at Siena College, combined for 50 of Hartford's 89 points. They hit a combined 12 3-pointers in what marked Hartford's first game as a full NCAA Div. III member. Hartford recently completed the NCAA's provisional Div. III membership process to transition its affiliation from Div. I to Div. III.

Stack hit the dagger, with a go-ahead catch-and-shoot 3-pointer in transition that made it 73-72 Hartford with 3:26 remaining. Winters followed up with his sixth triple on the next possession.

Wooster closed within 87-84 when senior Isaiah Johnson's 3-pointer dropped in the final six seconds. Wooster's press forced Hartford to burn a timeout, then the Scots were whistled for a foul while the Hawks were trying to get a player open on a series of screens. Winters hit the ensuing free throws to make it a two-possession game.

The Scots closed the first half with a strong 10-2 run to take a 40-34 lead into halftime. The run extended to 14-2 when junior transfer Quincy Jones made a floater and layup to start the second stanza. Prior to halftime, senior Jaiden Cox-Holloway scored three points the old-fashion way with a driving floater and free throw. He later knocked down one of his staple corner triples that made it 38-34 with 1:30 on the first-half clock. Senior EJ Kapihe denied a second-chance Kent Olewiler 3-ball prior to Kielian making a pair of free throws with one second remaining before halftime.

Jones, a former all-conference selection at Westminster College, dropped in 18 points in his Wooster debut. He was 8-of-14 from the field and had seven rebounds. Cox-Holloway finished with 15 points and nine rebounds on the night. Kapihe was next in the scoring column at 14 points. He knocked down 7-of-11 field goals and had high honors in rebounds at 10. Kielian played his first extended action as a Scot and rose the occasion with eight points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

As a team, Wooster shot 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the floor and had a 47-36 rebounding edge. Fifty-two of Wooster's points came from inside the paint.

Stack and Winters shot a combined 16-of-34 from the floor. Kaosi Chijikoe was the other standout for the Hawks, going 10-of-12 at the charity stripe. He finished with 14 points and 11 boards.

Hartford had 28 field goals, 13 of which came from beyond the arc. They shot 42.4 percent (28-of-66) overall from the floor.

Next, Wooster makes a stop at Western Connecticut State University (0-0) for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday, Nov. 9.