MARIETTA, Ohio — After scoring more points than any team has this season against Misericordia, Wooster center Dan Fanelly believes the Fighting Scots can improve.

Watching Wooster (23-6) rout the Cougars 84-59 at Marietta College's Ban Johnson Arena on Friday, it's difficult to see where those improvements will appear as the Scots advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.

"We're playing tomorrow and that's what we set out to do," said Fanelly, who scored a game-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds.

Fanelly's 10 points in the first half were a big reason why Wooster led 44-37 at halftime, but it was the start of the second half that allowed the Scots to take a commanding lead.

In the first five minutes, Wooster outscored Misericordia (21-7) 11-3 to build a 14-point lead. From there, the Scots just kept adding to the lead and never looked back.

"(Our coach) always stresses how important those first five minutes of the second half are," Fanelly said. "You can either let your opponent back in the game or you can put them away. We were able to take care of business."

Wooster coach Steve Moore was pleased with his team's offensive showing all night, but he felt the way they played defense in the second half was the key to the win.

"We shot well in the first half, but the reason it was so close is we gave up some easy baskets," he said. "In the second half, we stopped the first four possessions."

Moore also noted that Wooster had a balanced attack four players reached double-digits, including Alex LaLonde (16), Xavier Brown (13) and Evan Pannell (10). Wooster's Josh Kipfer and Milt Davis also chipped in with eight points each.

LaLonde, a sophomore forward, said he had been struggling most of the season and entered Friday night averaging just 6.6 points a game.

"My coach and my teammates have continued to show confidence in me even when I wasn't making shots," he said. "I just felt like there has been a lid on the basket and I felt the shots were going to start falling."

He ended up making of 6-of-10 shots, including 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line.

Misericordia coach Trevor Woodruff was surprised his team lost the way it did, especially after experiencing what he felt was a strong week of practice leading up to the tournament.

"It has everything to do with them and little to do with us," he said. "We defended the way we do and Wooster just made the shots. Give them credit because they were dynamite."

Senior guard Joe Busacca gave it everything he had, playing 39 minutes and scoring 17 points.

"We scratched and clawed the whole game, but they kept knocking them down," he said. "It felt like they didn't miss a shot."

Senior Steve Ware chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds, but he appeared to injure his left hip in the second half and that slowed his play a bit. Sophomore Erik Kerns added 11 points in the loss.

Misericordia is now 0-2 in NCAA Tournament action, while Wooster has reached the second round for the seventh straight season.