Quakers win season opener

Stirling scores 22 for Quakers

|Box Score|

November 18, 2005

Eric Stirling

ANDERSON, Indiana — Shooting a sizzling 59 percent from the field in the second half, Wilmington College pulled away from Defiance College to post a 74-61 win in first-round play of the Anderson Classic Friday.

The season-opening win started the Scott Reule era on a positive note. The Quakers¹ first-year head coach ­ a former assistant coach for both the men¹s and women¹s programs at WC ­ took the win in stride, but with a smile.

"It¹s a great feeling," Reule said. "It¹s still a position where you¹ve got to keep working hard every day and get better, but it¹s nice to get one out of the way. Confidence is always a key, and getting a win helps the confidence level."

The Quakers¹ relentless defense provided nightmares for the Yellow Jackets. Wilmington forced 14 Defiance turnovers in the first half ­ seven during a 14-0 spurt ­ and consistently cashed in with points at the other end of the floor. Senior forward Eric Stirling (Brooklyn, N.Y./LaSalle Academy) scored 12 of his game-high 22 points as the Quakers took held a 37-30 halftime lead.

"The defensive intensity picked up a lot of easy baskets for us because we could turn it over and go the other way," Reule said. "Also, they played a 2-3 zone and we did a pretty good job of handling it, getting some easy baskets inside when we were struggling shooting the ball."

Defiance pulled to within five points on two occasions early in the second half, but the Quakers put their team balance on display as senior Josh Rohrbacher (Columbus/Beechcroft), sophomores Zach Broermann (Brooklyn, Ind./Franklin County) and Nick Berter (Cincinnati/Reading), and freshmen Travante Leftenant (Columbus/Africentric), Scott Walters (Cincinnati/Elder) and Justin Gaines (Cincinnati/Colerain) all scored to move WC into a 55-40 lead.

Wilmington connected on 16-of-27 field goal attempts in the second half and shot 52 percent for the game. For the Quakers, defense was offense ­ WC scored 32 points off Defiance¹s 24 turnovers. Rohrbacher scored 12 points and Gaines added 10 as the Quakers showed they don¹t need the long-distance operator to complete a call.

"It tells you that we¹ve got good senior leadership, good upperclassmen," Reule said. "Brett Carpenter, who hasn¹t been a big-time player here, stepped up and went two-for-two from the field, five rebounds and played the most minutes of anybody. Eric Stirling was outstanding. Josh Rohrbacher was solid. As he is every game, Zach Broermann was big."

Wilmington¹s bench was dominant, outscoring Defiance¹s non-starters 22-0. Gaines and Leftenant combined for 18 points in their debut in the green and white. Reule was pleased, but not surprised, by the step-in efforts made by the newcomers.

"They¹re both just phenomenal athletes," Reule said. "Any time the ball¹s in their hands they can make things happen out on the floor. Justin brings a different level of speed to our team, and Travante just gets down on the block and works his tail off."

Matt Laudick led three Yellow Jackets in double figures with 18 points.