Quakers fall to Capital 81-63

Trio scores in double figures in losing effort

[BOX SCORE]

February 2, 2005

David Guy

WILMINGTON, Ohio — The Wilmington College Quakers out-scored Capital 40-33 in the second half, but a 25-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome, as the host Quakers fell 81-63 in Ohio Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening.

Capital started the game on a roll, jumping out to a 16-6 lead 14:31 into the contest, and did not look back for the remainder of the half. After the Quakers cut the deficit to seven, the Crusaders went on a 14-2 run, increasing the lead to 19. The first-half lead grew to as many as 25, when forward Jake Beck put in a layup with four seconds left in the half, giving the visitors a 48-23 lead heading into the locker room.

After Capital increased their lead to 26 a minute into the second half, the Quakers started to claw their way back, chipping away at the lead and eventually getting to within 14 with 9:23 to play, but that would be as close as the hosts would come, falling by 18 at 81-63.

Eric Stirling (Brooklyn, NY/LaSalle Academy) led the way with 15 points for the Quakers while Deon Short (Cincinnati/Mt. Healthy) and David Guy (Webb City, MO/Webb City) each scored 14. Short pulled down a team-high eight rebounds while Josh Rohrbacher (Columbus/Beechcroft) dished out four assists. Stirling blocked a career-high three shots while picking up five steals in the loss.

Capital put four players in double figures, led by David Kalb's 20 points while Beck scored 15, Brian Alge 13 and David Johnson 11. Jake Meisler pulled down a game-high nine rebounds while Kalb and Johnson each dished out five assists.

With the loss the Quakers fall to 8-12 on the year and 4-9 in the OAC while Capital improves to 14-5 on the year and 10-3 in league play.

The next game for the Quakers is on Saturday, when the team travels to University Heights, Ohio to face off against the nationally ranked Blue Streaks of John Carroll University with tip-off set for 3:00 p.m.