Quakers beat Marietta, 115-79

Five Players scores in double figures

|Box Score|

December 17, 2005

Zack Broermann

WILMINGTON, Ohio — Five players scored in double figures as Wilmington College crushed Marietta, 115-79, in Ohio Athletic Conference play Saturday in front of an appreciative Community Day crowd at Fred Raizk Arena.

Wilmington's game plan was to patiently attack Marietta's frantic, risk-taking defense, and that's exactly what the Quakers did, shooting 59 percent from the field to score 115 points - and doing so while attempting only one three-point shot.

"We told them that if they were patient, took care of the basketball and were smart and selective, we would never have to shoot a three, we would be able to get a layup on every possession," WC head coach Scott Reule said. "I didn't think it would turn out with us only shooting one - I thought we'd shoot a few. But we told them that, and they believed in it, and with the way they pressed us it made baskets come even easier for us."

Marietta (2-7, 0-4 OAC) came into the game averaging 98 points per game, but never got into full stride against Wilmington's swarming defense.The Pioneers got a three-pointer from Clinton-Massie graduate Ryan Wilkinson to take a 15-12 lead, but Wilmington's combination of patience and athleticism took control of the game.

Scott Walters (Mentor/Perry) scored back-to-back layups to trigger a 16-0 outburst that put Wilmington (8-1, 3-1 OAC) ahead 28-15 and well on its way to its fourth straight win. Justin Gaines (Cincinnati/Colerain) and Eric Stirling (Brooklyn, N.Y./LaSalle Academy) combined for 22 points as the Quakers shot 66 percent from the field to take a 55-36 halftime cushion.

Any designs the Pioneers had on getting back into the game were squashed by the Quakers' second 16-point run of the game, this one at the beginning of the second half. Wilmington scored at will, beating the Pioneers in transition and the half-court.

Defensively, the Quakers forced 25 Marietta turnovers and held the Pioneers to 38-percent shooting, 29 percent beyond the arc. Marietta's nine made three-pointers were four below their per-game average.

"Scouting-wise, we made sure we knew who their shooters were," Reule said. "Three kids on their team had taken 246 threes, the rest of the team had only taken 111. We made sure we knew who those three players were and made sure we got out on the shooters. We also did a good job boxing out, which makes the defensive effort look even better. Getting rebounds, limiting them to one shot is part of a complete stop on a defensive possession."

Stirling hit 10-of-15 shots and finished with game-high 21 points. Gaines scored 19, several baskets coming at the end of jaw-dropping moves to the basket. Nick Berter (Cincinnati/Reading) scored 11 and Brett Carpenter (Marshalville/Smithville) and Josh Rohrbacher (Columbus/Beechcroft) added 10 each. Fourteen of the 18 Quakers who saw action got in the scoring column. Chad Sponseller was the lone Pioneer in double figures, with 16 points; Wilkinson scored eight.

The Quakers won the rebounding battle as well, 51-38. Stirling pulled down 10 boards and Carpenter collected seven. The point total was the highest since the Quakers defeated Temple Baptist 115-84 in 2000. The single-game WC single-game scoring record is 125, put on the board in a win over Indiana East in 1996.

The Quakers will host Earlham College 4 p.m. Dec. 28. The game was originally scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m., but the game time was moved up to accommodate the Clinton County boys high school tournament, which will be played later that evening at Fred Raizk Arena.