UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — Bryce Bird hit two free throws in the final seconds to lift the Wilmington College men’s basketball team to an 85-84 Ohio Athletic Conference win Saturday at John Carroll University in the regular season finale.

The game was tied 80-80 with just two minutes to play. Noah Dado hit a trio of free throws to give Wilmington an 83-80 lead but John Carroll went on top 84-83 with 23 seconds to go.

Bird drew a shooting foul on a drive to the hoop with five seconds to play. He nailed both free throws to seal the win.

Wilmington shot 51.9 percent from the field and 21-of-25 from the free throw line.

Jeffery Mansfield led the charge for the Quakers with 22 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Bird contributed a career-high 20 points while shooting 85.7 percent from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line.

Wilmington had two other scorers in double figures in Dado and Collmann Aaron.

Wilmington concludes its 2021-22 regular season with a 6-18 overall record and will host John Carroll in the opening round of the OAC Tournament on Monday.

The Fightin’ Quakers caught fire right away as they started the game on a 9-2 run. JCU fought back to take a 31-25 lead with 7:43 left in the first half. Wilmington managed to regain the lead as Anthony Freeman nailed a three pointer on the assist from Mansfield to cap a 21-5 run to end the first half. The Quakers led 46-36 at the break.

Te game was tied at 53-53. A Bird jumper put Wilmington on top 80-78 to help set-up his own late-game heroics.