(WILMINGTON, Ohio) – The Wilmington College men's basketball team dropped a hard fought 82-69 contest to the Marietta College Pioneers Saturday afternoon in Hermann Court. The Quakers led the game 40-32 at the half but couldn't hang on for the win. This loss drops them to 5-4 overall this season and 1-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).
The Quakers got off to a hot start, with Gavin Heimlich and Jayden Lewis draining three-pointers to give them a quick 6-0 lead just over a minute into the game. The Pioneers would settle in with Wilmington holding a slight 10-9 advantage with 16:28 to play in the first half. An 8-0 run for the Quakers followed, giving them an 18-9 lead in the contest. Five different players scored for Wilmington during this stretch.
The Pioneers would storm back with an 11-2 rally to tie the game at 20-20 with under seven minutes remaining in the first half. Both teams would claw their way to a 29-29 tie with 2:43 to play in the half. The Quakers used a huge 11-3 push to end the half up 40-32. Lewis led the sequence with five straight points, before Matthew Dugue and Domenic Farley capped off the half with a pair of jump shots.
Marietta came out of the locker room with a vengeance. They took a 46-45 lead after a 14-4 run to open the second half and take the momentum. Their lead would grow to 59-53, but the Quakers wouldn't go down that easily. Dugue and Farley three-pointers tied the game back up at 59-59 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Both teams continued to stay close, with neither gaining a major advantage. Five straight points from Farley made the score 72-68 after the Quakers trailed 72-63. However, from this point forward the Pioneers would be able to stay just ahead of the Quakers, despite Wilmington's best efforts at a comeback. The game would end at its aforementioned 82-69 score.
Notables
- Matthew Dugue (14), Domenic Farley (13), and Jayden Lewis (11) all ended the game with double-digit points. Dugue's 14 was a game high.
- Farley led the game with eight assists, while he and Ben Golan tied with a game-high seven rebounds.
- Obed Achirem and Carson Miles tied for the team-lead with three steals.
- The team's 12 steals tied for their second most of the season (12 vs. Franklin College on November 20th).
- The team made eight three-pointers, their third most of the season.
What's Up Next
The Quakers have a big game next Saturday when they travel to University Heights, Ohio to take on the #1 ranked team in Division III college basketball, the John Carroll University Blue Streaks at 2:00 P.M.
