For the first 18 minutes of the game, the Wilmington College men's basketball team looked fluid and impressive. Unfortunately for the final 22, they were bogged down as the Fightin' Quakers fell to Baldwin-Wallace, 71-58, Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference action at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.

Wilmington is now 4-5 on the season, 1-2 in the OAC and 0-3 when they allow more than 70 points.

"It was a tale of two halves," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "Actually the last two minutes of the first half and the entire second half. We actually had a couple of good defensive possessions, then we threw the ball away a couple times and we let them gain the momentum and never got it back."

With 2:11 remaining in the first half, Wilmington held a nine-point advantage. The Fightin' Quakers were the aggressive bunch as they recorded nine offensive rebounds and marched to the free throw 16 times in the opening 18 minutes. They only committed nine fouls in the whole half.

However, the Yellow Jackets scored the final eight points of the half including back-to-back three's in the final 47 seconds.

The things the Quakers were doing well to gain the lead in the first half, Baldwin-Wallace was now doing in the second. BW grabbed nine offensive boards, and limited Wilmington to just one. They marched to the free throw line 21 times as they were in the bonus just five minutes into the second half. Additionally, Baldwin-Wallace converted 41 percent of its shots in the second 20 minutes.

"We began to play individually," said Hunt. "To beat good team, we have to be a true team. We have to make strides on a daily basis to be the best team we can be. I am not down on our team. We need to continue to get better."

To illustrate Hunt's point, Wilmington distributed just seven assists on their 18 baskets (39 percent). Wilmington came into the game with assists on 61 percent of their made field goals.

Sophomore Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and a career-high five steals. Junior Malcolm Heard (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington) added 11 points, but was just 2-of-10 from the field, while junior Klarke Ransom (Richwood, OH/North Union) pulled down a career-high seven rebounds.

For the first time this season, senior Brandon Candella (West Chester, OH/Lakota West) failed to reach double figures as he managed just four points all from the free throw line. He was 0-of-10 from the field.

The Fightin' Quakers will hit the road 7:30 p.m. Tuesday traveling to Bexley for an OAC contest with Capital.