WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's basketball team crossed the century mark for the first time this season in a 104-75 victory over Otterbein University in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action on Wednesday evening.
The win was the Fightin' Quakers' 14th consecutive victory over Otterbein dating back to the 2011-12 season.
The game was a one-possession contest for the first four-and-a-half minutes until Wilmington, leading 11-10, went on a 29-10 run over the next seven minutes. A DaeShawn Jackson triple at the 7:25 mark of the first half capped the run giving the visitors a 40-20 lead. The Cardinals would end the run with a triple, but could get no closer in the first half as the Quakers took a 53-33 lead into halftime.
Wilmington maintained the comfortable lead in the early stages of the second half. Otterbein would get as close as a dozen points (76-64) with 8:03 to play, but the Quakers scored on seven consecutive possessions to open up a 93-67 advantage with four minutes to go and coasted to the win.
"I'm proud of our team's mental approach today as we were locked in from start to finish," Head Men's Basketball Coach K.C. Hunt said. "We got solid contributions across the board especially from our bench."
Wilmington shot a season-best 53.2 percent from the field as well as making a season-high 41 field goals. The Quakers also finished 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) from distance, marking the second time this season the team has hit 14 triples. Otterbein made 24-of-61 (39.3 percent) from the field and 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) from distance.
Individually, five Quakers scored in double figures including a team-high 21 points from Lewis. Andrew Russell contributed his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 boards off the bench while Jackson (20), Will Patrick (12) and Jeffery Mansfield (12) rounded out the double-digit scorers for Wilmington.
Maurice Beavers led Otterbein with 20 points in defeat.
Wilmington (8-5, 4-3 OAC) hosts Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday. Tip-off from Fred Raizk Arena is scheduled for 3 p.m.