Scots gun down Titans

Wooster, ranked No. 2 in Division III, defeated Westminster, 116-79.
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The Fighting Scots from Wooster, the second ranked team in the nation in Division III men's basketball, came to Westminster's Buzz Ridl Gym and remained undefeated with their ninth straight win, a convincing 116-79 victory over the Titans on Monday night.
Through its first nine contests, Westminster was 8-1 and averaging nearly 111 points per game, but Wooster's defense, especially in the second half, and a 65-27 rebounding advantage was the difference.
The Fighting Scots, outscoring the Titans 61-30 in the second half, had 12 players in the scoring column. Tom Port a 6-foot-5 junior forward, was 12-of-20 from the floor for a game-high 27 points, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Four other Wooster players were in double figures, including junior guard Kyle Witucky, who scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 on 3-pointers. Tom Vandervaart had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Matt Schlingman and James Cooper scored 12 points each.
Many more turnovers
Interestingly, the turnover margin belonged to the aggressive Titans, who had only eight to Wooster's 27.
"I am not pleased with having 27 turnovers, but Westminster does a good job of trapping the ball," said Wooster coach Steve Moore. "A big difference was that when we beat the trap we had a lot of good looks at the basket and some very good percentage shots.
"I thought our defense, especially in the second half, was very good. A lot of our guys worked hard and we were right up on their good shooters."
In the first half Wooster used a 14-0 run to take a 30-12 lead, then Craig Hannon, a 6-2 freshman off the Titans' bench from Union High, hit a long 3-pointer.
Hannon, who had all of his 11 points in the first half, sparked a Westminster comeback that cut the 18-point lead to 10, 37-27.
Titans down two
Mark DeMonaco, a senior from New Castle who led the Titans with 26 points, had a pair of 3s to cut the lead to two, 48-46, with 2:02 remaining in the first half.
Ahead 55-49 at halftime, Wooster busted out of the gate with an 8-0 run for a 63-49 lead. A 15-0 run with seven minutes remaining in the game gave Wooster a 95-66 lead.
"We have a lot to learn and a lot to improve on," said Westminster coach Larry Ondako. "Usually the way we hustle on defense we are never out of a game, but tonight we were obviously out of this one."
DeMonaco, a 5-8 junior guard, was 9-for-16 from the floor and 8-of-14 on 3-pointers, but as a team the Titans were was 17-of-72 from beyond the arc.
Wooster, a much bigger team, was 48-for-66 overall and 9-of-14 on 3-pointers.
"They are big and good and we had a bad night," said DeMonaco.
"We played hard, but we just didn't shoot well."
Added Hannon: "The way we play we will give up some runs when we aren't hitting our shots."
Chris Hatch, a 5-11 senior from South Range who finished with 11 points, said, "When we lose, it's going to look bad, but give Wooster credit. They came to play and they play like they are rated."