WOOSTER, Ohio (Nov. 19) – Host Wooster used a 12-3 run in the opening stages of the second half to pull away from the Bearcats and earn a 75-57 victory on the opening night of the Wooster Van Wie-Rotary Invitational at Timken Gymnasium.

Anthony Dillard led Saint Vincent (1-3) with 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Dominic Jennings and Nelson Etuk each scored 12 points.

Saint Vincent limited the perennially strong Fighting Scots to just 37 percent from the floor and 17 percent from long range, but the Bearcats were hamstrung by 19 turnovers that led to 21 Wooster points.

Wooster jumped out to leads of 8-0 and 10-2 in the opening two minutes of the game, before the Bearcats awoke. Jennings connected on three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the court to quickly cut the deficit to 12-8, before baskets from Ethan Dunsey and Adam Bosco made it a one-point game, 15-14, with 11:22 left in the half.

The Fighting Scots would increase their lead to six points, 30-24, with just inside five minutes remaining, before SVC scored six unanswered points, using a pair of Dillard free throws, another Jennings trey and an Osyon Jones jumper in the paint, to tie the game at 30 with 1:52 to go. The Fighting Scots would eventually take a 33-32 lead at the break.

Wooster scored the first five points of the second half to open up a 38-32 advantage, but Jennings would temporarily halt the hosts' surge with a long two-pointer to make it 38-34. The Fighting Scots then took charge, scoring 12 of the game's next 15 points to open up a 50-37 lead with 14:56 left in regulation.

The Bearcats chipped away at the deficit, pulling to within 10, 56-46, on a bucket in the paint from Etuk, but the Fighting Scots again answered back with a 9-2 run to open up a 65-48 lead with 6:34 to go. A three-pointer from Adam Bosco with just inside four minutes left brought SVC to within 12, 69-57, but the Fighting Scots scored the game's final six points to pull away for the win.

Brandon Styers scored a game-high 22 points to lead three Fighting Scots in double figures, while Tayler McNeal posted an 11-point, 15-rebound double-double.

The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday evening to take on Spalding University in the tournament's consolation game beginning at 5:30 p.m.