Quakers rout Blue Streaks

Carpenter paces WC with 13

|Box Score|

February 4, 2006

Brett Carpenter

Brett Carpenter scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the second half as Wilmington College routed John Carroll, 76-56, in Ohio Athletic Conference play Saturday at Fred Raizk Arena.

The win moves WC to 8-6 in the OAC, 15-6 overall. John Carroll drops to 8-5 in the conference, 12-8 for the season.

"When we were playing so well earlier this season, we were doing a great job of getting a lot of guys into the lineup and playing well as a team, and that's what we did today," WC head coach Scott Reule said. "Everybody pitched in. Everybody helped a little here, a little there. We just did a great job of playing as a team and winning as a team."

The Quakers and Blue Streaks played the game's opening 10 minutes dead even, but John Carroll was dealt a blow when senior guard Pete Moran, the OAC's fourth-leading scorer, was injured taking a charge against WC's Josh Rohrbacher. Moran did not return to the game, and the Quakers took advantage of his absence.

For the remainder of the first half, Wilmington outscored JCU 22-9 to take a 37-24 lead at the break. Fred Harrison (Cleveland/East) and Josh Walters (Cincinnati/Elder) combined for 15 first-half points off the WC bench and Eric Stirling (Brooklyn, N.Y./LaSalle Academy) scored seven for WC. Defensively, Wilmington forced John Carroll into 12 turnovers in the first stanza.

"Fred and Josh really gave us great performances," Reule said. "One of the biggest things Josh did was take care of the basketball, and when he got pressured he took it to the rim. He also had three steals when we turned the game around in the first half. Our defensive effort in the first half, particularly, was very good."

John Carroll, a deep, talented OAC and NCAA tournament-tested team, never got back into the game. Justin Ragor's jumper at 18:03 reduced Wilmington's lead to 39-26, but the Blue Streaks got no closer. Nick Berter (Cincinnati/Reading), Stirling and Justin Gaines (Cincinnati/Colerain) scored to move the Quakers up 20 at 14:27. Gaines, who scored all eight of his points in the second half, connected again to give WC a 59-39 lead with 10:00 to play. Carpenter (Marshalville/Smithville) scored his final points of the game on a Sportscenter-caliber three-point play initiated by a spinning scoop shot in heavy traffic. Carpenter's play gave WC a 64-41 lead at 6:31 and effectively put the issue to rest.

"This is a big win over a very good team, over a very good program," Reule said. "John Carroll has won the OAC regular season title three straight years. They have been to the NCAA Final Four and twice advanced to the Sweet 16. This is the time of year when John Carroll plays its best basketball, and to beat them now means a lot to our team, a lot to our program."

Wilmington's box score lit up Reule's eyes. Balance was the name of the game. In addition to Carpenter's 13 and Gaines' eight, Harrison scored 12, Stirling added 11, Scott Walters (Mentor/Perry) scored eight, and Berter and Josh Walters scored six each. Derek Smith led JCU with 16 points.

The Quakers host Ohio Northern in a key OAC matchup 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fred Raizk Arena.