'On This Day' Ross Nets 31 Points in First Home Start for Men’s Basketball Team

'On This Day' is a Wells College Athletics feature series taking a look back on events that occurred on this day, Nov. 21, five years ago in 2015.

AURORA, N.Y. – In just his third game, freshman Rich Ross surpassed his combined scoring totals from his first two games of double-digit scoring by netting 31 against Houghton College on Nov. 21, 2015.

Ross became the first Wells player to reach the 30-point mark since E.J. Taylor scored 36 points against Keuka on Jan. 16, 2013. Ross went 10-of-13 from the floor that included 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and adding eight free throws from 10 attempts.

Ross also added eight rebounds to lead the team in that category. Vaughndell Brantley added 20 points for the Express, reeling in six rebounds, while Zachary Marsh tallied eight points.

Despite Ross and Brantley's combined plus-50 combined totals, it wasn't enough to beat Houghton, after the Express trailed the Highlanders by one going into the break.

Wells led by as many as three points with 12:52 left in the first half, using a Ross three-pointer to take a 19-16 lead. Houghton, however, used an 8-0 run to recapture a 24-19 lead. Brantley posted back-to-back layups to cut into the Highlanders lead before another three from Ross put Wells ahead by a 26-24 margin with 8:42 left in the first half.

Houghton rallied to use a 17-4 scoring run that spanned only 4:07 to capture a 41-30 lead. Down the stretch in the first half, however, Wells scored 13 of the game's next 14 points to retake the lead, 43-42, after a fast break layup from MJ Williams. Houghton got a big three-point basket from Dylan Lambert and a free throw by Zdravko Bogdanoski to hold on to a slim halftime lead at 46-45.

A Williams trey to lead off the second half gave Wells its final lead of the afternoon at 48-46. The Highlanders stifled the Express offense across the game's next 5:13 of play, using a 17-8 run. The Express would reduce the Highlanders lead to one point on two separate occasions, using a Brantley layup at 10:04 to shrink the deficit to 67-66.

In a game that featured several scoring runs by both programs, Houghton's dominant 12-0 scoring streak that spanned two minutes from 9:24 to 7:24 effectively ended the comeback chances for the Express. In that span, the Highlanders converted on three-straight shots from beyond the arc to quickly close the door on an Express comeback.

The Wells bench did post a strong performance in the game's final 1:23 as David Dames had a layup and Marsh posted a three and a jumper down the stretch before the 95-80 final.

Boxscore: https://www.wells-express.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/boxscores/20151121_imgi.xml?view=boxscore