GAMBIER, Ohio — The College of Wooster Fighting Scots, ranked No. 24 in the latest national poll, utilized high-percentage shots Wednesday night and pulled away from the host Kenyon College Lords to record an 83-61 North Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory at Tomsich Arena.

Wooster (10-2, 4-1 NCAC) outscored Kenyon in the paint 40-18. Those close-range shots allowed the Fighting Scots to put on a 57.1 percent (32-of-56) shooting display. On the other side of the court, Kenyon (5-7, 2-3 NCAC) came out strong, but finished with a 32.1 shooting percentage (18-of-56) for the game.

The Lords scored on four of their first ten possessions. Two of tallies went in the book as back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore Kamal Aubakirov, who gave Kenyon an 11-6 lead after the first five minutes of play.

The Lords maintained a slim lead for the next five minutes, but a three-point play from Peyton Bennington, followed by a three-pointer from Drew Bishop, pushed the Fighting Scots in front, 16-13 at the half-way point of the first half. That was Wooster's first lead of the game and one it would not relinquish.

The Fighting Scots never really cut loose from Kenyon in the first half. The Lords kept within striking distance and it wasn't until a late 7-0 run that Wooster created some breathing, making it to intermission with a 38-29 advantage. During that quick run, which spanned just 48 seconds, Keonn Scott, Hamilton Johnson and Danyon Hempy connected on buckets for the Fighting Scots.

In the second half, Wooster moved ahead by 12 at the 16-minute mark and then by 14 points at the 10-minute mark. The Lords, however, split that lead in half in matter of seconds. At 9:55, Christian Watanabe canned a three-pointer. Wooster then committed an offensive foul on its next possession and was accessed two technical fouls for arguing the call. Aubakirov went to the free throw line and sank all four freebies for the Lords, who pulled within seven points (57-50) with 9:49 remaining.

Wooster regained its composure and went on to score the next six points, igniting a 13-2 game-deciding run. The Lords never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.

Scott wound up leading all scorers, hitting 8-of-12 shots and ringing up 17 for Wooster. Hempy tacked on 16, Dontae Williams scored 13 and Bennington added 11. Scott and Williams both had six rebounds to lead the Fighting Scots to a 42-23 rebounding advantage.

For Kenyon, junior Ugnius Zilinskas scored a team-high 16 points while dishing out eight assists. Aubakirov wound up with a season-high 15 points and senior Carter Powell dropped in a dozen.

The game was called closely from start to finish. Wooster was whistled for 22 fouls and saw Kenyon go 17-of-20 (85.0 percent) at the free throw line. The Lords were caught 20 times and witnessed Wooster convert 15-of-18 free throws (83.3 percent).