Eddy Renert's jumper with 0.4 seconds remaining sent the Wilmington College men's basketball team to its first home loss of the season as the Fightin' Quakers to the 78-76 loss in Ohio Athletic Conference action at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court Saturday.
"We decided to be aggressive and double the ball screen," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "We knew it was coming, and I thought we did a pretty good job. We just needed to rotate a little bit quicker, but ultimately, he made a contested 17-foot jump shot. (It was) two really good teams, and ultimately they made one more play than we did. I was proud of our fight. I was proud of our toughness. We just have to execute better have timeouts and huddle situations. But other than that, they made one more play than us."
The game featured 20 lead changes and 14 ties, with 16 of the lead changes and nine of the ties coming in the second half. Marietta held the largest lead of the second half, a six-point lead with 11:36 remaining.
Junior R.J. Leppert (Liberty Township, OH/Lakota East) gave WC its final lead of the game on a three-pointer with 1:25 remaining had the crowd rocking.
"I thought we had a good energy in the building," said Hunt. "Our college kids really brought it today; both the team and the crowd. It was really nice to have them out supporting the program."
However, Marietta reclaimed the lead on a Renert tip-in with 52 seconds remaining. Senior Malcolm Heard (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington) made one of two free throws with 25 seconds remaining to knot the game at 76, setting up the last second heroics.
A slow enabled Marietta to race out to an early lead, and led by nine following a Luis Garcia three-pointer with 9:31 remaining. Garcia finished with a season-high 29 points. Heard scored seven straight during Wilmington's 13-3 run that gave the Fightin' Quakers a one-point lead. The Pioneers scored six of the last eight points to take a lead into the locker room.
"We didn't come out with enough urgency to get to guys and take away catch and shoot shots," said Hunt. "They made some tough ones as well. Against these guys, or any quality opponent, you have to play every possession like it's your last, and we kind of started doing that after the first 12 minutes of the half. After that it was a war. I thought we fought, and that is all you can ask. But ultimately, we have to execute better in the game."
Heard recorded his fifth consecutive double-double with a season-high 32 points and 10 rebounds. He has reached double digits in 14 straight games. Senior Klarke Ransome (Richwood, OH/North Union) added 14 points and a steal, while Leppert tallied 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Junior Taylor Wellman (Norwood, OH/Norwood) dished out a team-high four assists.
Wilmington (10-6 overall, 7-3 OAC) falls one game behind the Pioneers in the OAC standings, and they are on the wrong end of a potential tiebreaking scenario. The Fightin' Quakers travels to Muskingum 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.