The Wilmington College men's basketball team ran Muskingum out of the Fred Raizk Arena Saturday, figuratively. The Fightin' Quakers rolled up 33 fast break points and shot 61.5 percent from the field in posting the 100-78 Ohio Athletic Conference win.
Making half your shots is made easier when they team in sharing the ball, which was evident by the 21 assists on 32 made baskets. Wilmington shot a robust 71.4 percent from the field in the second half and had 16 assists on 20 made field goals.
"I thought we really shared the ball today. It was a good, solid victory on our home court," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "Anytime you get penetration and kicks, and you start making shots, it really opened up the inside for Bibbs, McCorkle and our bigs to finish around the rim. I was happy to see us take one more's and extra passes. It was good seeing (the ball) hum around the court."
While the 100 points was a nice landmark, the game was decided on the defensive end. Wilmington forced 21 turnovers, and turned them in 33 points.
"That's the best we have been on the defensive end all year long," said Hunt. "As we know, it's been documented we have struggled – especially in league play – to guard. Ultimately, with three minutes remaining in the game we had only allowed 60 points. I am proud of our effort and our intensity level, and just our willingness to get on the floor and do all the dirty work tonight was really special."
In addition to turning in a solid defensive effort, WC fought on the glass.
"I don't there is any question we did a better job of gang rebounding, especially to start the second half," said Hunt. "We were losing the rebounding battle at halftime, and I really challenged the guys to get in there, get dirty and get some rebounds as a group."
Wilmington finished the first half by scoring 10 of the last 12 points to open up the game's first double figure lead. WC stretched the 10-2 spurt into a 24-9 run as it pushed its advantage to 19 points. The lead grew to as much as 34 before both teams started to empty the bench.
Senior Jonathan Bibbs (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) tied his career-high by scoring 25 points for the second straight game. He was a perfect 11-of-11 from the field, marking just the third time in school history a player was perfect from the field in more than 10 shots. It's the first time in Wilmington's NCAA-era.
"I thought JB was tremendous," said Hunt. "He is starting to come into his own, finishing around the basket. More importantly, his motor is running a lot higher that it was early in his career. He has learned how to compete against quality OAC opponents, and it's a great thing to see."
Freshman Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) recorded 15 points with three rebounds, three steals and two assists, while sophomore Johnny Righter (Pataskala, OH/Licking Heights) added 13 points. In just his third game for Wilmington, junior transfer Zach McCorkle (Cincinnati, OH/Winton Woods) tallied a collegiate career-high 12 points with three boards.
Seniors R.J Leppert (Liberty Township, OH/Lakota East) and Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) combined for 12 assists and 15 points.
"Both those guys have the abilities to get 25 (points) at any point, but they are both willing passers which makes us a good basketball team," said Hunt.
Wilmington (6-8 overall, 3-5 overall) has won four of its last five games, and travels to Otterbein 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
