Hot shooting not enough on senior day

WILMINGTON (February 22, 2003) ­ The Wilmington College Quakers shot a blistering 56% in the first half and 51% for the game, but it was not enough as the team fell to Heidelberg College on senior day.

Wilmington (4-21, 2-16 OAC) and Heidelberg fought back and forth for the first seven minutes of the game before the host Quakers were able to grab a five point lead with eight minutes to play in the first half. The Green and White held onto the lead for the rest of the half, as the team led by as many as eight, and ended the half leading by four at 39-35.

Heidelberg (7-18, 4-14 OAC) found themselves down by nine a minute and half into the period before the visitors from Tiffin went on a 16-5 run to take a three-point, 51-48 lead. The Quakers tied the game twice more before the Student Princes opened a seven-point advantage with five minutes to play. Two points would be as close as the team would come the rest of the way, as Heidelberg ended the game on a 4-0 run to give the visitors the seven-point, 85-78 victory.

The three seniors came up big in their last contest on the home floor, as each of the four-year players scored in double figures. Seniors Greg Liggens (Toledo/Scott) and Adam Weber (Peebles/Peebles) each scored 16 points while senior Dave Hudson (Bucyrus/Col. Crawford) and sophomore Deon Short (Cincinnati/Mt. Healthy) added 13. Short grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds while also dishing out six assists to lead the squad. Liggens and Weber each pulled down six rebounds while Liggens blocked a season-high four shots in the game.

Heidelberg was led by Lucas Messer, who scored 29 points while Nick Flipic scored 19 and Rudy Wolf and Lorenzo Smith added 15 and 12 points respectively.

The next game for the Green and White is on Monday, February 24 when they play in the first round of the OAC Tournament with the opponent yet to be determined.