ALLIANCE – The Wilmington College men's basketball team put four scorers in double figures, however, their three-game winning streak came to an end with the 84-79 loss to Mount Union Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference action at the MAAC.
Sophomore Will Patrick (Chester, PA/Pickerington Central (OH)) tied the game on a jumper with one minute remaining, but the Purple Raiders answered 11 seconds later, and sealed the victory by going 3-for-4 down the stretch.
Patrick, who came into the game with 15 points total, broke out of his slump for a team-high 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting – including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Senior Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) added 15 points and two assists, while junior D.J. Iles (Fayetteville, OH/Fayetteville-Perry) added 13 points. The backcourt pair combined to shoot 6-of-22 from the field and 2-of-10 from three-point range.
Sophomore Kevin Lewis (Cincinnati, OH/Clark Montessori) finished with 12 points and four rebounds. It marked the first time this season sophomore Andrew Russell (Columbus, OH/Central Crossing) didn't reach double figures, finishing the game with seven points. Freshman Noah Chatman (Goodlottsville, TN/Beech) pulled down a team-high six boards to go along with seven points.
Both teams shot the ball well in the game, but it was the Purple Raiders that were a little more efficient. Mount Union shot 58.5 percent (31-of-53) from the field, while the Fightin' Quakers hit 41.9 percent (26-of-62) of their shots.
Wilmington led for most of the first half, leading by as much as seven, but Mount Union went on a 14-5 run with five minutes remaining in the half to take the lead. The Purple Raiders took a four-point lead into the half.
Once again, the Fightin' Quakers started a half on fire – this time by scoring the first 12 points to open up an eight-point lead. The home team wouldn't go away, going on a run of its own. Mount Union took the lead with 9:15 remaining, and WC only briefly regained the lead, before the Purple Raiders closed out the game.
Wilmington (3-3 overall, 0-1 OAC) hosts Ohio Northern (2-3 overall, 1-0 OAC) 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Polar Bears opened OAC action with a 87-65 win over Capital Saturday.
