TIFFIN – The Wilmington College men's basketball team left their defensive effort in the locker room for the second half as the Fightin' Quakers allowed Heidelberg to shoot 72.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc, and fell in Ohio Athletic Conference action, 88-85, at the Seiberling Gymnasium.

"We did not play well in the second half," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "We didn't guard the ball, didn't guard in transition, and was simply atrocious on defense. We only have one group to blame for this loss, ourselves."

Despite the defensive woes in the second half, Wilmington came within a missed three-pointer from senior Jonathan Bibbs (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) of sending the game into overtime.

Freshman Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) gave WC the 83-82 lead with 47 seconds remaining. However, the Fightin' Quakers couldn't get a stop when they needed as Heidelberg scored on their final three possessions to secure the win.

Wilmington built an eight-point lead on the strength of it defensive, holding HU to just 41 percent (14-of-34) from the field. The Student Princes were only 4-of-9 from the land of three in the first half. Those numbers went through the roof in the second half as Heidelberg made eight of its 11 three-point attempts, and converted 53 percent from the field.

The game didn't start well for the Fightin' Quakers as the home team scored the first seven points of the contest. However, WC continued to chip away at the deficit, and finally took its first lead following two free throws from senior Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) with 5:20 remaining. The points from the charity stripe sparked the senior point guard as he scored 12 of his 14 first-half points in the final 5:20.

Johnson and Jones carried the bulk of the scoring load, combining for 47 points.

"We had a couple special individual performances today, but this is a team sport," said Hunt. "We need all 20 guys on the same page. When we get it, we are a good basketball team. When we don't, we are just like everybody else – average. We will get back to work Monday, and work on getting better."

Jones didn't miss a shot in recording a career-high 24 points. The sharpshooter was 7-of-7 from the field, including two three-pointers, and 8-of-8 from the foul line. He added four rebounds and two assists. Johnson added a season-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting with three rebounds.

Bibbs tallied 15 points and six rebounds, and senior R.J. Leppert (Liberty Township, OH/ Lakota East) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds with nine points.

For the game, the Fightin' Quakers made 23 consecutive free throws, and went 24-of-25 from the charity stripe.

Wilmington (8-10 overall, 5-7 OAC) hosts Ohio Northern 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.