Quakers fall by five to Marietta

Deon Short scores a career-high 25 points in loss

[Box Score]

(WC Press Release) Marietta, Ohio (January 31, 2004) -- The Wilmington College Quakers dropped their 18th game of the season to Marietta College 59-54 on Saturday.

Deon Short (Cincinnati/Mt. Healthy) scored a career-high 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting in the loss.

The Quakers and Pioneers battled back and forth throughout most of the first half until the Quakers used a 12-4 run to take a seven-point lead with 2:01 to play in the period. Marietta proceeded to open a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at 29 before Josh Rohrbachcer (Columbus/Beechcroft) hit a three-point basket with three seconds left to send the Quakers into the locker room with a 32-29 lead.

In the second half the Quaker lead would grow to as many as five with 15:33 to play, before the hosts opened a 10-0 run in the last two minutes of the game to take a seven-point lead. The Quakers cut the deficit to two with 27 seconds left when David Guy (Webb City, MO/Webb City) hit a three-point basket, but the Pioneers hit 3-of-6 free throws down the stretch to put the Quakers away.

Short scored a game-high 25 points while Guy scored 17. Short pulled down a team-high eight rebounds while he and Luke Wolfinbarger (Franklin/Franklin) each dished out two assists.

Marietta put four players in double figure scoring, led by 17 points from Matt Hines. Cody Lane scored 14 while Scott Laslo and Ryan Wilkinson scored 12 and 10 points respectively. Wilkinson grabbed nine rebounds.

With the loss the Quakers fall to 1-18 on the season and 1-11 in the OAC while Marietta improves to 8-11 overall and 3-9 in league action.

The next game for the Green and White is on Wednesday, February 4, when the team plays host to the Crusaders of Capital University with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.