DEFIANCE – Three players reached double figures as the Wilmington College men's basketball team kept Defiance winless with the 88-80 win Wednesday at the Weaner Center.
Senior Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) reached double digits for the third time this season with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 8-for-8 from the foul line. He dished out six assists to go with two boards. Sophomore Andrew Russell (Columbus, OH/Central Crossing) added a season-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and eight rebounds. Russell has scored at least 14 points in all five games.
Freshman Noah Chatman (Goodlottsville, TN/Beech) was 5-for-6 from the field for 10 points.
Both teams shot proficiently from the field as Wilmington converted 52.5 percent (31-of-59) and the Yellow Jackets made 53.4 percent (31-of-58). The difference came from the foul line as the Fightin' Quakers were 17-of-21 (81 percent) and Defiance was just 11-of-21 (52.4 percent).
Coming into the game ranked nationally in assists with 20 per game, WC dished out 26 dimes on 31 field goals in the win. Junior D.J. Iles (Fayetteville, OH/Fayetteville Perry) led the team with seven assists and 10 players tallied a marker in the category.
Wilmington led for most of the first half, leading by as much as six, and never trailed by more than a single point.
It looked as if the Fightin' Quakers were poised to put the game away early in the second half with an 11-2 run. However, it didn't take long for the Yellow Jackets to respond. Over the course of three minutes, Defiance shot its way back with a 12-2 spurt.
WC never surrendered the lead, and eventually pushed its advantage to 12 points. The Yellow Jackets couldn't get back into the game as Wilmington hit 6-of-10 from the line.
Wilmington (3-2) opens Ohio Athletic Conference action 2 p.m. Saturday, traveling to Mount Union. The Purple Raiders moved to 4-1 with an 89-71 win Wednesday over Hiram.
