WESTERVILLE – In tight road games in the Ohio Athletic Conference, experience tends to come in handy.

Senior R.J. Leppert (Liberty Township, OH/Lakota East) hit back-to-back three-pointers, and Wilmington's seniors scored 17 of the team's final 19 points as the Fightin' Quakers defeated Otterbein Wednesday, 69-63, at the Rike Center. Leppert converted three three's during a 10-1 run that enabled WC to gain its first double-figure lead of the game.

"We definitely made winning plays in the last four minutes," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "R.J. Leppert had a four-minute stretch of outstanding basketball. He rebounding and defending in those four minutes."

The final four minutes allowed Wilmington to shake off a horrendous start.

Otterbein exploded for a 13-2 run to build a double-figure lead. The Fightin' Quakers missed nine of 10 shots during the stretch, and WC trailed by 10 at halftime.

"We were sleep walking, and our sidelines were like the 'Land of the Living Dead'," said Hunt. "As we found out last week, if you are not going to be ready to go, you will get beat. Fortunately, we woke up in the second half and started playing Wilmington basketball."

It didn't take a rah-rah speech during the halftime to get the team going.

"It was simple, if you don't guard, make more of effort and play with energy, and compete for each other – you are not going to win the game," said Hunt.

Ironically, it was a play at the end of the first half that may have sparked the Fightin' Quakers as senior Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) nailed a three-pointer with four seconds left in the first half to trim the deficit to 10 points. His three sparked an 11-2 run that pulled Wilmington to within four points, and got it back into the game.

After Leppert's tip-in with seven minutes remaining, the comeback was complete.

With the lead trading hands a couple of times, the Wilmington experience took over and helped the Fightin' Quakers pull out the win.

Johnson and senior Jonathan Bibbs (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) each scored 15 points, while Johnson added team-highs in rebounds (six) and assists (three). Leppert added 13 points and freshman Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) recorded 11 points. Since moving into the starting lineup, Jones has reached double figures in nine of 10 games.

Wilmington (7-8 overall, 4-5 OAC), winners in six of the last eight games, kicks off the second run through the OAC – hosting John Carroll 3 p.m. Saturday. The Blue Streaks claimed the first meeting, 96-86.