Scots' 3-Point Assault Leads to Al Van Wie Title

Tom Port scored 29 points Saturday night. This dunk was the only field goal he made that was not a 3-pointer.

WOOSTER, Ohio — The College of Wooster scorched the nets at Timken Gymnasium for 17 3-pointers Saturday night, as the host Fighting Scots defeated University of Wisconsin-Stout 90-82 to win their fourth season-opening Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic in a row.

The 17 3-pointers made equaled a school record for Wooster, which was paced by senior Tom Port’s (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake) career-high 29 points. He only made one field goal – a first-half dunk – that wasn’t a 3-pointer, connecting on 8-of-15 attempts from behind the arc. The eight 3-pointers made were the second-most by an individual in team history.

The Scots (2-0) seemed to be red-hot in the first half, however, they only led 48-40 at the break. Wooster was 12-of-21 from 3-point land (.571), highlighted by an 8-of-11 stretch (.727), which built its lead to 46-31. Wis.-Stout (1-1) rallied, though, closing on a 9-2 run to pull within eight.

That momentum carried into the second. The Blue Devils steadily chipped away and took a series of leads at 58-57, 61-59, 62-61, and 64-61 before Devin Fulk (Newark, Ohio / Licking Valley) canned back-to-back 3-balls (67-64).

Wooster never trailed again, but it was tied 71-71 with 6:40 remaining. At that point, the Scots’ defense intensified, forcing three turnovers and limiting Wis.-Stout to just 3-of-10 field-goal shooting over the final stretch. On the offensive end, Wooster strung together seven-straight points and outscored the Blue Devils 11-2 (82-73) before the visitors were forced to foul.

In addition to Port’s career night, which began with four consecutive 3-pointers, James Cooper (Springfield, Ohio / Springfield South) tossed in 21 points, including 3-of-7 3-pointers. Fulk matched his career high with 14 markers, as he nailed 4-of-6 from outside the arc, while Kyle Witucky (Zanesville, Ohio / Zanesville) chipped in 11 points, to go with seven assists.

Greg Chiasson led Wis.-Stout in points (15), rebounds (eight), and assists (seven).

In Saturday’s consolation game, the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) dispatched of Kalamazoo College 70-47, behind a 31-point, 19-rebound night from Isaac Rosefelt. The 31 points were a tourney record.

Following the weekend’s four-game set, top awards were presented to Port as tournament MVP and teammate Tim Vandervaart (North Canton, Ohio / Hoover), who had a Wooster-high seven rebounds, two blocked shots, and one steal while limiting the Blue Devils’ 7-0 Jacob Nonemacher to nine points in the title game, as defensive MVP. Also on the all-tourney team were Cooper, Chaisson, Rosefelt, Wis.-Stout’s Adam Chandler, who combined for 31 points and seven assists, and St. Thomas’ Ryan Schnettler, who broke an Al Van Wie/Rotary Classic record with 10 3-pointers in the two games.

Next for the Scots will be a trip to Virginia where they’ll face Methodist College (1-0), which made the NCAA Div. III Tournament last season, on Saturday (Nov. 26) at 7 p.m. The host school for the tourney is Emory & Henry College (1-1), which is averaging 133.0 points through two games this year.