The chances were there, they just didn't fall for the Wilmington College men's basketball team as the Fightin' Quakers fell to Mount Union Saturday, 74-71, in the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season finale in Fred Raizk Arena at Hermann Court.
Senior Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) missed the potential go-ahead three-pointer with eight seconds remaining, and sophomore Law Williams (Dayton, OH/Thurgood Marshall) missed the potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.
"We got some great looks throughout the game," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "When you are playing a team that is offensively as potent as Mount Union, you better make some shots. At times, this game can be a make or miss game, and today they made more than we did today. It was a great, great college basketball game, and to go out on Senior Day with a loss is tough. But, I thought our five seniors really competed and set the tone all day long."
Johnson, along with R.J. Leppert (Liberty Township, OH/Lakota East), Jarrin Taul (Ripley, OH/Ripley), Ben McGriff (Beavercreek, OH/Beavercreek) and Jonathan Bibbs (Dayton, OH/Chaminade Julienne) played in the their final home game.
Wilmington trailed by six points with 99 seconds remaining in the game when freshman Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) made a lay-up and then following a turnover, Jones was fouled on another lay-up. The league's leading free throw shooters missed the ensuing free throw, and Wilmington trailed by two.
The Fightin' Quakers got another stop, and was able to get a good look for Johnson. After Jarrett Ruffin missed one of two free throws, Wilmington still had life. Coming out of the timeout, Williams had a decent look rim out.
Behind the emotion of Senior Day, Wilmington raced out to an early eight-point lead. But as the team's started to settle in, the Purple Raiders started making some shots. Mount Union flipped its deficit around with a 19-2 run to take the lead.
"They are a team that is capable of stringing together multiple three's in a row, and for the most part I thought we did a good job of chasing them off the three-point line," said Hunt. "But you look at the stat sheet and see they still got 28 three-pointer off."
While Wilmington pulled to within one on several occasions, the Fightin' Quakers could never pull even or take the lead.
Three-point shooting was the key to the outcome as Mount shot 12-of-28 from beyond the arc, while Wilmington was just 5-of-20.
Bibbs led the team with 14 points, while Jones added 12 points and two rebounds. Johnson tallied seven points with a team-high five assists and five boards. Junior Zach McCorkle (Cincinnati, OH/Winton Woods) pulled down five rebounds as well.
Wilmington (11-13 overall, 8-10 OAC) will have to wait until Sunday to learn its opponent in the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament that starts Tuesday. The Fightin' Quakers currently hold a half-game lead over Ohio Northern for the fifth seed, and a meeting with No. 4 Baldwin Wallace.
A Polar Bears win Sunday over Marietta would give ONU the fifth seed and drop Wilmington to six. It will also create an unbreakable three-way tie with Marietta, Mount Union and John Carroll. A coin flip would decide the top three seeds, and WC's opponent.