The Wilmington College men's basketball team allowed a season-low 57 points as the Fightin' Quakers defeated Capital Wednesday, 72-57, in Ohio Athletic Conference action at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court.

"I thought from the standpoint of effort and toughness, it was as complete a game we have played all year long," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "I was really proud of our guys. I thought it was a total team effort."

Capital went on an early 11-0 run to take a seven-point lead. Part of Wilmington's issue during the run resulted in its inability to identify shooters.  

"I thought we gave two early three's, where we didn't know personnel," said Hunt. "We didn't get all the way to shooters, had short close outs. After a timeout, we actually got into them about it, and (the players) responded well, and played the best defensive game as we have played all year."

The Fightin' Quakers immediately answered with a 9-2 run, and the deficit stayed between two and four points until Wilmington found its offensive footing. When they found their offensive happy place, it was smooth sailing.

Senior Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) capped a 12-2 run with a three-pointer at the first half buzzer, and Wilmington led by nine at the break. His three came after senior Jonathan Bibbs (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) rebounded a missed free throw and found Johnson for the deep triple.

It was Wilmington's ninth assist of the first half, and WC added another nine dimes in the second half. The Fightin' Quakers distributed assists on 18 of the team's 29 baskets.

"I think this group is growing and growing, and willing to make extra passes and easy plays," said Hunt. "They are starting to see the fruits of their labor in practice kind of show up on the court. We been working tirelessly on extra passes, easy plays and hockey assists, and I thought you saw a lot of that tonight."

Capital cut its deficit to six in the second half, but senior R.J. Leppert (Liberty Township, OH/Lakota East) hit back-to-back layups and freshman Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) drilled a three-pointer to push the lead back to 13. The Crusaders got as close as nine points, but never really threatened down the stretch.

Jones, who finished with nine points, also pulled down a career-high nine rebounds as the Fightin' Quakers won the rebounding battle.

"If we are going to be a team that competes at a championship level, it's going to be together with five guys, especially on the glass," said Hunt. "To outrebound a team like Capital is huge for us. If we can do that, we are going to give ourselves a chance to win a lot of games."

Bibbs finished with a game-high 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Leppert added 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks.

"Both JB and R.J. competed like crazy," said Hunt. "R.J. does a little bit of everything as we know, and as far as JB goes – I thought that was a competitive and physical as he has been all year long and it's really nice to see."

Johnson came off the bench to put on a great shooting display, hitting all six of his field goals and both free throws for 14 points. He added three assists, two rebounds and two steals.

"I thought Dwight was great tonight," said Hunt. "He was tough; a leader that got us in an out of sets, and got us into our offense. He rebounded the ball. He was a warrior and I am really proud of his play tonight."

Wilmington (8-9 overall, 5-6 OAC) travels to Tiffin 3 p.m. Saturday to face Heidelberg. The Student Princes (7-11 overall, 3-8 OAC) lost to John Carroll Wednesday, 83-66.