The Wilmington College men's basketball team allowed the first eight points of the game, and never led Saturday as the Fightin' Quakers fell to John Carroll, 88-78, at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court in Ohio Athletic Conference play.

Despite trailing by double figures less than six minutes into the game, WC fought back and had chances to get over the hump. However, Wilmington missed all six field goals attempts with the ability to take the lead.

"There is no question we had opportunity after opportunity to control the game in the first half," said Wilmington head coach K.C. Hunt. "I thought the same thing in the second half. We could never make that big shot that we needed. Sometimes it's a make or miss game, and I thought that is what happened tonight. We absolutely competed like crazy; we got on every loose ball. I thought we showed the level of toughness that we had. I am proud of our guys. We just have to execute better."

Much like the first half, John Carroll built a lead and the Fightin' Quakers battled back to within striking distance. A three-point play from sophomore John Righter (Pataskala, OH/Licking Heights) pulled Wilmington to within one with more than 14 minutes remaining.

However, the Blue Streaks answered with seven straight points. During that span, WC turned the ball over twice and missed its only shot.

"We got ourselves back into the game by defending and guarding the basketball," said Hunt. "As the game wore on, I thought we got worn down and they got more aggressive. We didn't do as good a job of squaring guys up and guarding the ball. It was kind of a mirror image of the first game honestly."

Senior Dwight Johnson (Dayton, OH/Jefferson) led four Quakers in double figures with 16 points, while senior R.J. Leppert (Liberty Township, OH/Lakota East) added 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.

Sophomore Law Williams (Dayton, OH/Thurgood Marshall) added 13 points and three steals, and senior Ben McGriff (Beavercreek, OH/Beavercreek) recorded 12 points.

Wilmington (7-9 overall, 4-6 OAC) stays home 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to host Capital in OAC action. The Crusaders won the first meeting, 90-79, on December 3.