A highly ranked Division III Wooster men’s basketball team hosted Division I Kent State in an exhibition game Saturday to raise money for a memorial fund for the son of Wooster assistant coach Doug Cline.

Division I teams visiting Division III institutions is rare, even for exhibition play, and Kent State had to obtain a special waiver to make the trip. Kent State coach Geno Ford is a longtime friend of Wooster assistant Doug Cline, who lost his 3-year-old son Corey in a car accident last February.

All proceeds from the game went to the Corey John Cline Fund. The memorial fund will be used to create a scholarship in Corey’s honor for the College of Wooster Nursery School where he was a student. Cline said the family wanted to help kids in the Wooster area that weren’t “as fortunate as Corey was.”

Ford said his team was pleased to have a positive impact on Wooster and the Clines.

“The game (was) a way for us to pay tribute to Corey, the Cline family and the extended Wooster community,” Ford said. “We are honored to be a part of the game.”

Though Wooster led the Golden Flashes, 21-11, early in the game, Kent State defeated the Fighting Scots, 76-59, in front of 1,825 fans. The event raised more than $5,000, including $1,000 from the officials, who donated their pay for the game.

Wooster head coach Steve Moore said Kent State’s willingness to play the benefit game was an “outstanding gesture.”

Cline, in his 13th year as an assistant coach with Wooster, addressed the crowd before the game, thanking them, Kent State, and the Kent State student-athletes for their support. Kent State’s coach and players all hugged Cline. Cline was given a standing ovation twice and was clearly moved by the crowd reaction.