Jones scores his 1000th career point in close loss to Mount Union

Jones scores his 1000th career point in close loss to Mount Union

WILMINGTON, OH - The Wilmington College men's basketball team played a great 39 minutes against Mount Union but struggled in the final minute resulting in a 76-73 loss Saturday afternoon.

The Quakers (3-3) faced a tight contest in the first half against Mount Union.  Both teams went back and forth with a handful of lead changes that resulted in Wilmington taking the lead 36-29 at the half. Mount Union led in the field goal percentage category, shooting 45.8%, but Wilmington topped the Purple Raiders in three-point percentage by shooting 40.0% from outside the arc. Leading the way for the Quakers in the first half was Kevin Lewis coming off the bench with nine points on a perfect 4-4 from the field.

The difference in the second half came within the final minute of the game.  Wilmington was leading the game with 0:36 left on the clock.  Wilmington's Kevin Lewis fouled Mount Union and Nathan Bower-Malone was able to sink both of his free throws, putting the Purple Raiders up one, 73-72.  After a timeout by Wilmington, on the next possession, the Quakers turned the ball over and had to quickly foul Mount Union to stop the clock.  The Purple Raiders went back to the free throw line adding one more point to their total and increasing the lead 74-72. The Quakers took the ball and Christian Jones led the offensive attack forcing the Purple Raiders to commit a foul with 0:07 seconds left on the clock.  Jones was only able to sink one of his free throws that essentially ended the game.

A great effort tonight was put out there by the Wilmington College Fightin' Quakers. Jones was the leading point scorer on the night en route to his 1000 career points with totaling 17 points on 5-9 shooting. Andrew Russell and Kevin Lewis chipped in with 11 points, while Will Patrick added 10 points, respectively. 

Wilmington shot 38.6% from the field, 28.6% from the three-point arc, and 82.1% from the free throw line. Wilmington totaled 13 assists to Mount Union's seven.  Wilmington also totaled nine steals helping force 17 total turnovers by Mount Union.

Wilmington (3-3) continues Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play by traveling to Ohio Northern at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6th.