ALLIANCE — Jayden Lewis basket with five seconds left gave the Wilmington College men’s basketball team a stunning 80-79 win Saturday over No. 4 Mt. Union on the Purple Raiders home court.
Wilmington trailed 79-74 late in the game but rallied for the win with Domenic Farley scoring four points and Lewis adding the game-winner on a jumper in the lane.
“The guys played with a collective team effort all day,” WC head coach Micah Mills said, according to the WC website. “From guys that got one minute to zero minutes to 25 minutes, everyone was fighting for the team. That’s when sports are fun.”
The loss at home is the first regular season defeat for the Purple Raiders since Feb. 9, 2022 against Marietta. It was Wilmington’s first win over Mt. Union since Jan. 28, 2017 at Hermann Court.
“To go into Mount Union or anywhere in the OAC and win is a full day’s work and today our guys were here for the work,” said Mills. “Dom (Farley) led us all night long with his attacking mentality. To have a senior like Jayden Lewis be ready to step up and make plays down the stretch is really special to see.”
The Quakers are 5-3 overall, 1-0 in the OAC. The Purple Raiders move to 5-1 overall, 0-1 in conference play. This was Wilmington’s first win at Mt. Union since Jan. 10, 2015.
“Super proud of the effort and pulling out the win, but we aren’t going to shy away from the fact that we have more work to do, and we are here for it,” Mills said.
Farley had a career high 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists for WC. Lewis finished with 11 points.
Wilmington had a good shooting day, hitting 33 of 64 from the floor, including 5 of 10 from three-point range. The Quakers were 9 for 11 at the free throw.
It doesn’t get much easier for Wilmington as No. 19 Marietta visits Fred Raizk Arena 2 p.m. Saturday.
