Defense keys WC win, 72-64

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – When times were tough down the stretch, the Wilmington College men’s basketball team turned to its defense to lead them to the first win of the season.

The Fightin’ Quakers held Fontbonne scoreless over the final 2:50 to post a 72-64 victory in the consolation game of the Holiday Inn Express West Tip-Off Tournament held on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan.

“It was a total team effort,” said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. “We had a bunch of guys make key plays down the stretch with key rebounds and key shots. It was a good road game for us. We were definitely challenged to make winning plays and thankfully we did.”

After a basket to trim their deficit to two with 2:50 remaining, the Griffins went 0-for-6 from the field. Senior Zach McCorkle (Cincinnati, OH/Winton Woods) had a tip-in push Wilmington’s lead to four points, and then WC was 4-for-8 from the line down the stretch.

For the second straight game, Wilmington scored the first six points of the game. But unlike Saturday, the Fightin’ Quakers didn’t allow their opponent to make an extended run. Fontbonne was able to gradually chip away at the Wilmington lead, finally took the lead. They extended the lead to as much as five. The Griffins took the two-point lead into the half.

Wilmington seized control of the game once the game was tied at 44 with a 10-2 run. The duo of McCorkle and freshman Will Patrick (Chester, PA/Pickerington Central) scored all 10 points during the spurt.

“Zach is a tough cover,” said Hunt. “They have some really big bodies, which were on the slow of foot side, and he the ability to take you outside and go by you and make a jump shot. I thought he was a real key tonight.”

The Griffins, once again, chipped away at the Wilmington lead. However, the Fightin’ Quakers made enough plays down the stretch to keep Fontbonne at bay. Both times the Griffins pulled to within a basket, McCorkle came up with an answer.

McCorkle finished with a team-high 19 points and four rebounds en route to earning all-tournament team honors. Patrick tallied a career-high 12 points with four boards.

“Will made some huge plays through the game, a couple big threes and some man-sized rebounds from the guard position,” said Hunt.

“That is going to be a real positive for this team,” Hunt continued about the team’s ability to have different players come through on different occasions. “We have a lot of guys that can make plays on a given night, and hopefully, we can get some consistency out of this young team.”

Sophomore Christian Jones (Hamilton, OH/Hamilton) added 11 points and three assists. Sophomore D.J. Iles (Fayetteville, OH/Fayetteville-Perry) dished out a team-high four assists.

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WC Sports Info. Dept.

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