SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -The Wilmington College Quakers held onto a nailbiter against the Alma College, defeating the Scots 92-85 in the first round of the 2014 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic at Wittenberg.

The Quakers battled back from a 15-point deficit early in the game, narrowing the gap to three by the intermission. Wilmington took its first lead on a three-pointer by freshman Christian Jones at the 18:56 mark of the second half, and from there the Quakers repeatedly knocked down clutch shots to hold on to the lead the rest of the way.

The Scots struggled to find consistent looks in the second half as their 47.5 field goal percentage could not match up with Wilmington's 51.5. Leading the scoring for Wilmington was senior R.J. Leppert with 22 points, followed by 21 for Jones. The Quakers showed great care for the ball, turning it over just seven times.

Alma's bench provided some help late in the game, with 34 of points from non-starters. Leading the scoring for the Scots with 16 points a piece was Chase Fairchild and Jason Beckman.

The Quakers will await the winner of the final game of the tournament's first day between the host Wittenberg Tigers and the Waynesberg Yellow Jackets.

Written By: AJ Meyer '16