ARLINGTON, Virginia - The Wilmington College men's basketball team forced 29 turnovers in a 65-55 victory over Trinity University (Texas) in the consolation final of the sixth annual Pablo Coto Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Marymount University this weekend.
"I'm proud of our guys' effort today," Head Men's Basketball Coach K.C. Hunt said. "We have a lot of work to do offensively, but when you guard like we did today, you give yourself a chance to win."
Despite the overall offensive struggles for both teams, Will Patrick opened the game by hitting consecutive three-pointers for the Quakers. Wilmington would extend its lead to 15-4 at the 12:30 mark on a three-pointer from DaeShawn Jackson. Wilmington continued to lead as a Kevin Lewis layup made the score 19-11 with 8:15 to play in the first half.
Trinity would tighten up its defense, however, as the Tigers held the Quakers to just three points over the next nearly seven minutes. Kevin Lewis made a free throw to make the score 26-23 in favor of Trinity, but Wilmington ended the half on a 6-0 spurt that began with Lewis' free throw and ended with an old-fashioned, three-point play from Jackson.
Wilmington opened the second half on a 19-8 run and ultimately held the 13-point lead for a victory.
The Quakers shot under 30 percent (22-of-75) from the field with 10 made three-pointers to go along with an 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) effort from the free throw line. The Tigers shot nearly 10 percentage points better than Wilmington in the game, but attempted 32 fewer shots due to the 29 turnovers caused by the Quakers. Trinity did convert 20-of-24 from the free throw line.
Along with forcing 29 turnovers, Wilmington outrebounded Trinity 50-33 and grabbed 16 steals.
Individually, Lewis, who was named to the All-Tournament team, finished with a double-double in points (17) and rebounds (13) along with making six steals. Patrick and Jackson both had 14 points as the other two Quakers to score in double figures.
Isaiah Specks led Trinity with 15 points in defeat.
Wilmington (2-1) is off for 10 days before traveling to Earlham College for the Quaker Bowl Rivalry on Wednesday, Nov. 28.