News Release
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A Huge Second Half Run Gives Wilmington Men’s Basketball 69-54 Come-From-Behind Victory over Georgian Court
MBB: Wilmington 69 - Georgian Court 54
A 17-0 run starting with less than 10 minutes left in regulation turned a six point deficit into a 69-54 victory at Georgian Court on Wednesday night at the Wellness Center in the first ever meeting between the two Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference foes.
In their first year of competition, the Lions (2-9, 0-4 CACC) held a 49-43 lead with 9:50 to play in the second half, holding the lead for the majority of the contest until that point. From there, the Wildcats (5-8. 2-3 CACC) went on a 17-0 run over the next 6:18 of game play to take a commanding 60-49 lead with 3:32 showing on the clock.
The lead would balloon to as large as 15 with the final score, but never dipped below double-digits once the Wildcats moved ahead 59-49 with a pair of free throws from Herb Dennis.
The Lions took their first lead of the first half on a layup by Jalen Robinson with 10:36 showing on the board, and never relinquished that lead until a jumper by Dennis at the 6:35 mark of the second half to put the Wildcats ahead, 50-49. The Lions carried a 29-22 lead into the halftime break.
Georgian Court held as large as an eight point lead in the second half and was leading 49-43 before the Wildcats stormed back. The 17-0 run started with a free-throw by Valentino Thompson before Tyaire Ponzo-Meek converted a layup with 8:05 to play. Ta’Vaune Griffin put in a layup to bring the Wildcats to within a point before the Dennis Jumper moved the Wildcats in front for the final time.
During the run, the Wildcats went 6-of-8 from the floor, including sinking the final five attempts from the floor. They also added 5-of-6 from the foul line during the spurt. Dennis scored eight of the team’s 17 points during the run.
The Wildcats shot 16-for-28 from the floor in the second half, while also adding 14-of-19 from the foul line to close out the victory. Seven of the team’s second half misses came from beyond the three-point arc, meaning the Wildcats shot 75 percent (15-of-20) from two-point field goals in the second half. The Wildcats outgained the Lions in the paint, 36-26, for the contest.
Wilmington had three student-athletes reach double-digits in the contest, led by Dennis’ team high 19 points. He shot 8-of-13 from the floor and added two steals and two assists. Thompson added 15 points and a game high seven assists in the game, shooting 8-of-10 from the foul line. Shai Henry was the final Wildcat in double figures, nearly completing the double-double with 12 points and a game high nine rebounds.
The Wildcats will remain in action this weekend, traveling to NCAA Division I’s University of Maryland Eastern Shore for an exhibition on Saturday at 2 p.m. The next contest to go into the team’s overall season record will take place on New Year’s Eve when the Wildcats welcome Shippensburg for a 1 p.m. tip at the WU Athletics Complex.
