WILMINGTON, Ohio -- A pair of free throws with one second left broke a tie game and lifted Wilmington to a 68-66 victory over Trine in non-conference action Thursday afternoon at Raizk Arena.
Christian Jones drew a foul and knocked down both charity tosses in the final second to seal the victory. The Thunder fought back from down 10 with 7:04 to play to tie the game on multiple occasions in the closing minutes, but were unable to gain the lead. Jones scored 14 points and dished out four assists to help lead the Quakers. Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio / Centerville) paced Trine with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-10 from three-point range. The Thunder fell to 4-6 overall. Wilmington improved to 5-6.
Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind. / Zionsville) added 18 points for Trine. The senior moved into 13th on Trine's all-time scoring list with 1,493 career points. Myles Copeland (Toledo, Ohio / St. John's) came off the bench to score 12 points, all of them in the second half. The Thunder shot 42 percent (23-of-55) from the field.
Nathan Scott poured in 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting to lead a Quaker bench that scored 26 points. Noah Chatman also reached double figures with 12 points. Wilmington held a 28-18 scoring edge in the paint and shot 46 percent (26-of-57) from the field.
Dodson scored 17 of his points and knocked down four treys in the first half. Eight points each by Scott and Chatman helped the Quakers hold a 38-37 edge at the break.
An 11-0 Wilmington run midway through the second half opened up a 64-54 lead with 7:04 to play, but the Thunder responded with a 10-0 run to tie things back up at 64 with 2:25 on the clock. Copeland contributed four-straight points during the run before a Dodson three cut the deficit to one. Dixon split a pair of free throws to tie the score.
A bucket by Scott gave the Quakers the lead, but multiple Trine trips to the line resulted in two Copeland free throws to tie the score at 66-66 with 18 seconds remaining. Jared Dishop (Napolean, Ohio / Liberty Center) blocked a shot on the ensuing Quaker possession, but Wilmington regained the ball with four seconds left before Jones drew the game-deciding foul.
The Thunder men wrap-up non-conference play Saturday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. against Ohio Northern. Admission is free for all fans.