WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's basketball team trailed for just 16 seconds in a 85-70 near wire-to-wire victory over Baldwin Wallace University (BW) in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest at Hermann Court on Saturday afternoon.
Jeffery Mansfield opened the game with a layup on the first possession, and an old-fashioned, three-point play Michael Quiring gave BW a 3-2 lead. A layup on the Fightin' Quakers' next possession followed by a three-pointer from Colin Myers started a run that would last 10 minutes.
When a Drew Sova layup, just the Yellow Jackets' third field goal of the half, fell through with 6:29 to play in the half, the Quakers' lead was 22-10. BW would get as close as nine on two occasions in the first half, but DaeShawn Jackson and Aaron Mullins scored on four consecutive possession to give the hosts a 15-point cushion (40-25) at halftime.
"We displayed great defensive effort today," Head Men's Basketball Coach K.C. Hunt said after the game. "I thought the guys were really locked in on the scouting report and played at a high level."
The visitors came out of the half strong, putting together an 11-0 run capped by a Sova jumper with 16:37 to play in regulation. Leading by just four, the hosts got their first basket of the half on an Abdul Kanu layup four minutes in. The next five minutes saw the Quaker lead fluctuate between 6-11 points, but the Yellow Jackets had no answer for Kanu and Mansfield down the stretch.
Wilmington finished shooting 32-of-65 (49.2 percent) from the field and 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from distance. The hosts converted 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the charity stripe and won the rebounding battle 38-30.
Baldwin Wallace countered with an even 28-of-56 (50.0 percent) shooting from the field and 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. The Yellow Jackets could not overcome 17 turnovers, 12 of which were steals from the Quakers.
Kanu led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go along with four steals. Mansfield added 20 points with 13 of those coming in the second half while Jackson, Mullins and Myers also scored in double figures. Those five Quakers accounted for all but two of the squad's points.
"Individually, Jeffery [Mansfield] and Abdul [Kanu] carried us down the stretch and closed the game," said Hunt. "Aaron [Mullins] and DaeShawn [Jackson] were catalysts as well."
Sova led BW in defeat with 15 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Michael Quiring and Zach Cebula also scored in double figures.
Wilmington (9-12, 7-7 OAC) hosts Muskingum University for a 7 p.m. game at Hermann Court on Wednesday evening.
