*Story by Casey Miller

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio - Bryce Bird hit two free throws in the final seconds to lift the Wilmington College men's basketball team to an 85-84 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) win at John Carroll University in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon.

The Fightin' Quakers caught fire right away as they started the game on a 9-2 run over the Blue Streaks. JCU would not back down though as the hosts fought their way back into the game to lead 31-25 with 7:43 left in the first half. Wilmington managed to regain the lead as Anthony Freeman nailed a three pointer on the assist from Jeffery Mansfield to cap off a 21-5 run to end the first half. The Quakers led 46-36 at the break.

As the second half started, the Blue Streaks got back into the game and tied things up at 53-53 with 15 minutes to go in the second half. Both teams traded buckets back and forth as the game came down to the wire. Bryce Bird hit a jumper to put Wilmington up 80-78, but JCU quickly responded with two free throws from the line to tie things up once again at 80-80 with just two minutes to play.

Noah Dado headed to the line as the Quakers were in the bonus and he managed to knock down three free throws to extend their lead to 83-80. The Blue Streaks would respond with a few free throws and a layup from Omar Abuhamdeh to take the lead at 84-83 with 23 seconds remaining in the second half. The Quakers had the ball with the shot clock dead, and Bird drew a shooting foul on a drive to the hoop with five seconds remaining. Bird nailed both free throws from the line to seal the 85-84 victory over JCU.

Wilmington shot 51.9 percent from the field and an astounding 21-of-25 from the free throw line. The Blue Streaks were 43.3 percent from the field and 22-of-30 from the free throw line. JCU won the battle of the boards 38-27.

Individually, Mansfield led the charge for the Quakers with 22 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Bird contributed a career-high 20 points while shooting 85.7 percent from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Wilmington had two other scorers in double figures in Noah Dado and Collmann Aaron. The Blue Streaks were led by Jackson Sartain's 18 points along with 17 points from David Gentry.

Wilmington concludes its 2021-22 regular season with a 6-18 overall record and will host John Carroll in the opening round of the OAC Tournament on Monday.