The Wilmington College men's basketball team shot less than 30 percent from the field and fell to Mount St. Joseph, 58-48, Tuesday in the season opener at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.
"The story of the evening was empty possession after empty possession," Wilmington College head coach K.C. Hunt said after the game. "When you go 4 for 25 from 3 … some of them were bad that we didn't want to take, but a lot of them were good."
Hunt added the staff counted nine missed layups in the first half alone.
"We set basketball back 15 years offensively," Hunt said. "The moment got too big for us."
Not only were the Fightin' Quakers struggling on the offensive end, they couldn't allow themselves to make up ground defensively as the Lions had a constant march to the foul line.
Wilmington was called for 26 fouls, to MSJ's 11, and the visiting Lions held the 24-6 advantage on free throw attempts. Mount St. Joseph was 20-of-24 from the charity stripe, while WC was just 4-for-6.
"We have to do a better job of defending without fouling," said Hunt. "We have to understand you can play aggressive defense without using your hands."
The Fightin' Quakers were able to force 17 MSJ turnovers and holding the Mount to just 33.3 percent (17-of-51) shooting from the field.
Sophomore Andrew Russell (Columbus, OH/Central Crossing) tallied a team-high 14 points while battling foul trouble all game long. Freshman William Greene (Fairfield, OH/Roger Bacon) kicked off his collegiate career with 10 points and three rebounds.
Sophomore Will Patrick (Chester, PA/Pickerington Central (OH)) pulled down a team-high seven boards, while sophomore guard Kevin Lewis (Cincinnati, OH/Clark Montessori) recorded six boards, including game-high three on the offensive end, with four points and three assists.
Wilmington (0-1) travels to Memphis, TN to participate in the Rhodes Tip-Off Tournament Saturday and Sunday. The Fightin' Quakers plays host Rhodes 3 p.m. Saturday.
