Quakers beat Heidelberg

Stirling scores 18 for Quakers

|Box Score|

December 10, 2005

Eric Stirling

WILMINGTON, Ohio — Wilmington College dug out of an early 13-point hole to defeat Heidelberg College, 77-64, in Ohio Athletic Conference action Saturday at Fred Raizk Arena.

The Student Princes (4-4, 1-2 OAC) roared into Wilmington averaging 92 points per game, and appeared to be headed in that direction against the Quakers. Heidelberg bolted out of the gate, taking a 17-4 lead when sophomore guard Shawn Shriver drilled a three-pointer.

Wilmington¹s bench play then turned things around. Fred Harrison (Cleveland/East), Justin Gaines (Cincinnati/Colerain), Travante Leftenant (Columbus/Africentric), Scott Walters (Mentor/Perry) and Josh Walters (Cincinnati/Elder) hit the hardwood and turned up the defensive pressure on Heidelberg. Harrison scored seven points and had two steals and Leftenant scored four — his second jumper completing a 23-4 run that gave Wilmington (6-1, 2-1 OAC) a 27-21 lead.

"When those guys left the bench, we told them we have to guard people, we¹ve got to pick up the tempo," WC head coach Scott Reule said. "They got in and made things happen. The group that came out saw that action, saw what was going on and they picked up their play as well."

Up 34-33 at the break, the Quakers starting five, led by sophomore point guard Zach Broermann¹s seven straight points, opened the second half with a 10-0 spurt to take a 44-33 lead.

"Those guys came back to play — they always do," Reule said. "As I¹ve said before, those are kids that are in there at the end of a game, and there¹s a reason for that. They have experience. They answered the call and got things going for us. Zach¹s had some ups and downs shooting the ball so far this year, but he¹s a great shooter. It¹s going to come. He¹s going to do great things for us. He led the OAC in three-point shooting percentage last year, and he¹s going to get back to that level."

Broermann (Brookville, Ind./Franklin County), who hit on all three of his three-point attempts, scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half as the Quakers pulled away from Heidelberg, in the process holding the Student Princes to their lowest point total of the season. Senior forward Eric Stirling (Brooklyn, N.Y./LaSalle Academy) led the Quakers with 18 points, 12 coming in the second half. Stirling also led WC in rebounds and assists with eight and four, respectively. Senior guard Josh Rohrbacher (Columbus/Beechcroft) scored 10 points.

Ron Higgins led Heidelberg with 14 points, Shriver — who scored 10 in the first half — finished with 12. The Quakers¹ relentless defensive effort led to 24 Heidelberg turnovers. Harrison and Stirling had two steals each as the Quakers recorded nine takeaways.

"We reminded them before the game that this team is averaging 92 points a game. The plan today was the same as it always is: get out, guard, take them out of what they want to do, pressure them, don¹t let them get comfortable. That¹s the signature of what we¹re trying to get done right now," Reule said.

The Quakers return to action 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when the Ohio Wesleyan University Battlin¹ Bishops visit Fred Raizk Arena for a non-conference game.