NEWARK, Del. - - A quick start by Bloomfield stunned Wilmington on Saturday afternoon as the Deacons pulled away for a 79-63 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference men's basketball victory at the WU Athletics Complex.
Visiting Bloomfield (10-6, 8-1 CACC) extended its winning streak to five straight games, jumping out to an 8-0 lead which took the air out of the Wilmington's (7-11, 3-6 CACC) sail before the Wildcats could recover.
Tyrik Gass put the Wildcats on the board with a layup with 15:28 remaining in the first half, but the Deacons used another 9-4 run to take their first double digit advantage at 17-6 with 11:55 on the board. After a slow first 10 minutes, the scoring picked up by both squads, but the Wildcats were never able to get closer than nine points during the rest of the first half, falling behind by as many as 20 points before the break. A three-pointer by Bloomfield's Mike Williams pushed the visitors lead to 40-20 with 2:41 remaining before the Wildcats cut it to a 17 point deficit going into the locker room.
The second half didn't get any easier for the home team, as the Wildcats could only close to as few as 15 points, and that was with their first possession of the second stanza. Another 14-1 run by Bloomfield in the middle of the second half gave the visitors their largest lead of the game, 68-37, with 8:29 left in regulation.
From that point, Dwayne Dixon and Dusan Kojic led a stretch in which the Wildcats outscored the Deacons, 26-11, with Dixon tallying eight points and Kojic scoring six. The run cut the largest deficit of the game in half for the Wildcats and settled the final score, 79-63.
Senior Herb Dennis led the Wildcats with 11 points while sophomore Ta'Vaune Griffin narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and a team high 10 rebounds while adding four blocked shots. Valentino Thompson scored six points but added six rebounds, a block and four steals in the losing effort.
Bloomfield took advantage of the Wildcats in the paint, outscoring Wilmington 38-26 in the lane. The Deacons were led by four players in double-digits, including a double-double from Claude Blue. He scored 12 points and added a game high 15 rebounds while Williams led the team with 16 points. Bloomfield won the game despite turning the ball over 15 times and only shooting 42.9 percent (27-for-63) from the floor.
The Deacons did, however, block a Wildcat shot nine times, and produced eight steals in the contest. They also held Wilmington to 21-of-67 shooting from the floor while not allowing the Wildcats to hit a three-pointer (0-for-12).
The Wildcats will look to get back to their winning way on the road next week starting on Wednesday. The team will next head to South Division rival Holy Family on January 22 for another CACC doubleheader. The men's game will follow the women and start approximately at 8 p.m.
