DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's basketball team won the Purple and Gold Tournament with an 81-72 victory over host Defiance College on Saturday afternoon.
The Quakers opened the game on a 10-2 run capped by an Aaron Frazier layup four minutes in. The Yellow Jackets answered with four quick points, however, causing Wilmington First Year Head Coach Micah Mills to call a quick timeout. The visitors would lead by as many as seven points on multiple occasions, but couldn't pull away further. The hosts hung around and eventually tied the game 34-34 on a Kiewaun Graham layup late in the first half.
Abdul Kanu would take over in the final two minutes, scoring four points including a fast break dunk that beat the buzzer off a steal from Andrew Clark to send WC into the locker room ahead 38-34. The 15-minute break wouldn't hault the Quakers' momentum as Wilmington opened the second half on a 12-3 run to build a 50-36 advantage. Five minutes later, a Bryce Bird basket put the visitors ahead 64-42 for what proved to be the largest lead of the game.
Defiance would cut the large deficit in half, but the closest the hosts got was eight points down with just over a minute to play.
"Today was our first true road game of the season, and it had everything a road game normal does - adversity, runs and crowd chatter," Head Coach Micah Mills said. "This team rallied together to stay connected, focused and passionate to pull out our first road win of the season! It was awesome to see every player impact the game with both on-court production and energy supporting the team mission. We are excited about this weekend, but we know we have a lot more work to do."
Wilmington finished the game 32-of-61 (52.5 percent) from the field along with making six triples and winning the rebounding battle 38-29. The Quakers also had a 1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio with 14 of each. Defiance made 23-of-54 (42.6 percent) field goals as well as converting 20-of-28 (71.4 percent) from the free throw line.
Marell Jordan led all scorers with 30 points for Defiance in defeat, but he was the lone Yellow Jacket to score in double figures. Achirem turned in a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds while Kanu (19 points) and Bird (14 points) also scored in double figures. The pair of St. Francis DeSales alumni garnered All-Tournament Team honors.
Wilmington (2-0) heads to Franklin College on Tuesday evening before hosting Kenyon College in the home-opener next Saturday.
