MARIETTA – The Wilmington College men’s basketball team was held under 70 points for just the fourth time this season in an 80-65 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) loss at Marietta College on Saturday afternoon.
“I thought we did a solid job defensively, but we clearly struggled to make shots,” WC men’s coach K.C. Hunt said. “You have to make plays at a high level on both ends of the floor to beat a good team on the road.”
Wilmington shot 19-of-57 (33.3 percent) from the floor, including 6-of-29 (20.7 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. Marietta made 29-of-65 (44.6 percent) from the field and an equally lackluster 4-of-21 (21.1 percent) from distance.
Both squads shot exactly 75 percent from the free throw line – 21-of-28 for the Quakers and 18-of-24 for the Pioneers.
Individually, Christian Jones and Will Patrick finished in double figures for Wilmington. Payton Smith scored six points and dished out four assists off the bench.
Five Pioneers notched double figures including Caleb Hoying with 16 points. Avery Williams tallied a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Wilmington (10-12, 6-10 OAC) hosts Capital University for senior day Wednesday. Tip-off from Hermann Court is slated for 7 p.m.
Christian Jones found Andrew Russell for a three-pointer on the game’s first possession to jumpstart the Wilmington offense which came into the contest averaging more than 80 points per game. Marietta scored the next two baskets, but a Jordan Jones free throw tied the game 4-4 at the 16:39 mark. The Pioneers responded by scoring the next eight points, but consecutive baskets from Colin Meyers kept the Quakers within four points.
Leading 12-8 just over six minutes in, Marietta went on a 14-0 run over a five-minute stretch. The Pioneers would hold an advantage as large as 17 points, but the Quakers got the deficit down to 10 points (44-34) on a Christian Jones basket with 17 seconds left in the half.
Wilmington trailed by a dozen at halftime, but could not get closer in the second half. Marietta would lead by as many as 25 points (80-55) with 3:20 to play just before the Quakers ended the game on a 10-0 run.
