Four players scored in double figures as the Wilmington College men's basketball team won its second straight home game, beating Otterbein Wednesday, 74-64, in Ohio Athletic Conference at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.
"We did not play great tonight, but we were still able to grind out a victory, and it shows our growth," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "It's a process. We had different guys step up when we needed them to. Brandon made a couple plays, D.J. made a huge rip-and-go drive that gave us a cushion that allowed us to pull away at the end. We have had seven or eight games exactly like this, and we have only been able to win two. Hopefully we get seven or eight more just like that in the second half, and we are able to pull them out."
Wilmington had a couple double-digit runs in the second half that enabled the Fightin' Quakers to register the double-figure victory.
Freshman Brandon Smith (Lebanon, OH/Lebanon) was in the middle of the first scoring stretch as he scored all 13 of Wilmington's points during a 13-2 run, giving WC its first double-digit lead. He kicked off the spurt with back-to-back three-pointers, then added back-to-back lay-ups before capping the run with a three-pointer.
"Brandon was great all night," said Hunt. "He made shots; he played with a ton of juice and enthusiasm. The guy, offensively, can do some really exciting things."
Otterbein crawled back into the game, and following a transition three-pointer by Jake Phillis – the league's second-leading scorer – the WC lead was down to two, and Hunt was forced to call a timeout with 4:43 remaining.
"We talked about getting our enthusiasm back," said Hunt. "I thought we lost our edge and we just talked about winning the five-minute war and go home with a W. I thought the guys stepped up and made plays, especially on the defensive end to clamp down. That is what is takes to win games."
The pep talked was effective, and Wilmington scored 13 of the next 18 points to push its lead back to 10.
The Fightin' Quakers was 7-of-8 from the foul line during the stretch, and finished the game 11-of-12 from the line to secure the win.
While it's the offense that gets all recognition for the victory, it was the Wilmington defense on Phillis that was imperative to the outcome. He came into the game averaging 20.3 points per game, and was held to seven on 2-of-9 shooting.
"We were super conscious of number three all game long, and when you limit his touches and where he wants to get it, he is going to be less effective," said Hunt. "I was proud of our effort on the defensive side of the ball. "
Senior Zack McCorkle (Cincinnati, OH/Winton Woods) finished with 12 points, a team-high seven rebounds and a career-high three blocks. Senior Chris Jackson (Ostrander, OH/ Buckeye Valley) and sophomore D.J. Iles (Fayetteville, OH/Fayetteville Perry) scored 10 points each. Iles dished out a team-high three assists.
Wilmington (3-11 overall, 2-7 OAC) travels No. 5 John Carroll 2 p.m. Saturday.
