Wilmington, Capital to meet
in OAC quarterfinals

Quakers, Crusaders are hottest teams in conference

February 21, 2006

It may be No. 4 vs. No. 5, but Wednesday's Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal game between Wilmington College and Capital University will feature the two hottest teams in the conference. The Quakers (12-6 OAC, 19-6 overall) have won five straight games while the Crusaders (9-9, 12-12) ride a four-game winning wave that was capped by a 76-71 win over No. 3 Baldwin-Wallace Feb. 18.

"Usually, the teams that are winning a lot of games in a row this time of year are the 1 or 2 spots," WC head coach Scott Reule said. "For it to be a 4 or 5 is kind of unusual."

Capital's young squad has built on both its wins and losses with the intent of making a run in the OAC Tournament. Their late-season resurgence was complemented not only by a season of growth, but also the return of sophomore forward Jake Meisler.

"There was a span in the season where Meisler was hurt. Without him, Capital was 1-5," Reule said. "If you look at their overall record, it doesn't tell the whole story because when he's on the floor and playing, they are a completely different team. You add him with Nate Stahl and they are a very good basketball team."

The Quakers and Crusaders split their regular-season series, with Wilmington winning at home, 74-63, Jan. 18, and Capital returning the favor, 60-55, Feb. 1 in Bexley. Eric Stirling scored 27 to pace the Quakers in their win while Stahl, a freshman wing, scored 27 to lead the Crusaders past WC.

"Capital did an excellent job on us defensively in Bexley," Reule said. "We held them to 60 points, but only scored 55. You're not going to win many games playing that way. But I feel if we do another good job on them defensively and can be a little bit more productive on the offensive end, we can win this game. But it's not one of those tournament games where you can just come out, get loose in the first round and win. We have a lot of hard work to do."

Stahl, who is five points shy of CU's all-time freshman single-season scoring mark, leads the Crusaders. His 15.1 points per game are backed by Meisler and Steve Kyser, who are scoring at an 11-points-per-game clip. As a team, Capital ranks third in the OAC in scoring defense (69 ppg) and rebounding (+3.5). The Crusaders' 42-percent field-goal defense tops the conference.

Wilmington's success also has been synergized by strong defensive play. The Quakers lead the OAC in scoring defense (67 ppg), steals (11.6 per game) and turnover margin (+4.2).

Stirling (Brooklyn, N.Y./LaSalle Academy) has been the go-to man all season for WC. The senior forward was the OAC's fourth leading scorer (16.9 ppg), ranked seventh in rebounding (6.3 per game), sixth in steals (1.6 per game) and 10th in blocked shots (0.72 per game). Seniors Brett Carpenter (Marshalville/Smithville) and Josh Rohrbacher (Columbus/Beechcroft) have consistently scored, rebounded and shown the willingness and ability to make big plays at big moments. Sophomores Zach Broemann (Brookville, Ind./Franklin County) and Nick Berter (Cincinnati/Reading) round out a starting lineup that has been intact since Day One.

Wilmington's starters have been aided by a strong freshman contingent of Justin Gaines (Cincinnati/Colerain), Josh Walters (Cincinnati/Elder) and Travante Leftenant (Columbus/Africentric) that has blended with sophomores Fred Harrison (Cleveland/East) and Scott Walters (Mentor/Perry) to make WC one of the deepest teams in the OAC.

Wednesday's Wilmington-Capital game at Fred Raizk Arena tips off at 7:30 p.m.