Copyrigth 2015; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo of Brian Adkins against Goldey-Beacom by Frank Stallworth.
NEWARK, Del. - - A three-pointer with just under five minutes to play pushed the Goldey-Beacom Lightning to a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division victory, 80-74, over the Wilmington University men's basketball team on Sunday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Lightning (4-9, 3-3 CACC) seized control of the lead early in the second half before the Wildcats (4-8, 0-5 CACC) battled back to tie the game as late as 65-65 with 5:05 showing on the clock. But the Lightning answered the knotted game with a three-pointer on their next possession and never relinquished the lead.
Stops were hard to come by down the stretch, as the teams traded buckets and free throws. A Brian Adkins layup brought the Wildcats to within 72-69, but the Lightning answered right back with a layup just 22 seconds later. Following a Lightning layup, Tyaire Ponzo-Meek hit a three-pointer with 1:08 showing on the clock to bring the Wildcats to within two-points.
The Wildcats got the stop they were looking for but Ponzo-Meek's runner in the lane was off the mark with 26 seconds left and the Lightning were able to hit their free throws down the stretch.
The Wildcats led for the majority of the first half, using the deep ball to jump out in front. The home team shot 7-of-13 from three-point territory in the first half, getting three from Adkins, two from Drew Johnson II and one each from Omari Dill-Pettiford and Ponzo-Meek.
Ponzo-Meek's three-pointer in the first half gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the half, putting the team up 27-17 with 9:41 left. The Lightning went on an 11-2 run to get to within 29-28. Adkins converted a four-point play right in front of the Lightning bench with 1:53 left to put the home team up 39-31, but the visitors closed the first half on a 6-0 run of their own to close the gap to 39-37 heading into the halftime break.
The momentum continued into the second half for the Lightning, as Sameen Swint opened the scoring with a three-pointer, giving the visitors a 40-39 lead, which they held onto for the majority of the stanza.
Adkins led four Wildcats in double digits with a game high 21 points, hitting 4-of-6 from three-point territory. Ponzo-Meek scored 17 points while also grabbing a team high eight rebounds and dishing out a game high seven assists. Johnson II finished with 16 points while hitting three three-pointers and Dill-Pettiford scored 14 points and added six rebounds and four assists in his first collegiate start.
The Lightning shot 52.7 percent from the floor for the afternoon, hitting 6-of-17 from deep as well. They also had four players in double figures, led by Shakeem Wilson's 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Wildcats have one game remaining in the 2015 calendar year as they look to snap their seven-game losing streak with a New Year's Eve road game at West Chester. Tip-off for the nonconference game contest is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
