Hot Shooting First Half Carries Wilmington Men’s Basketball to 80-64 CACC Victory at Nyack

Hot Shooting First Half Carries Wilmington Men’s Basketball to 80-64 CACC Victory at Nyack

Copyright 2016; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo of Paul Medlin against Concordia. 

NYACK, N.Y. - - Paul Medlin came off the bench to secure his second double-double of the season in leading the Wilmington University men's basketball team to an 80-64 road victory at Nyack on Saturday afternoon.

After a slow start in which the Wildcats (8-16, 3-12 CACC) were down by as many as nine points, the visitors began knocking down shots in route to the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory. The Wildcats shot 50.9 percent from the floor for the game, including 8-of-18 from beyond the three-point arc.

The bulk of the three-pointers came in the first half, as the Wildcats began to climb out of the nine-point hole. Brian Adkins and Sam Sanders hit back-to-back three-pointers to eventually tie the game, 18-18, before another set of back-to-back threes by the duo pushed the Wildcats lead to 29-19 with 7:40 to play in the first half.

Adkins hit the final three-pointer of the half for the 34-23 lead and Medlin put the exclamation point on the first half with a dunk from Tyaire Ponzo-Meek with 3:14 to play. The Wildcats went into the halftime break lead 43-34. 

Omari Dill-Pettiford got in on the scoring to begin the second half, scoring all six points in a 6-0 Wildcats run. Adkins continued his hot shooting with another three-pointer, spreading the Wildcats' lead to 53-38. Medlin hit a jumper and Ponzo-Meek converted an old fashioned three-pointer play to extend the Wildcats' lead to its largest of the afternoon, 60-41, with 14:34 remaining in regulation.

Medlin threw down another dunk off a feed from Sanders with 4:04 to play before capping his afternoon with a pair from the free throw line, finishing with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Medlin also added four blocked shots for the game while shooting 7-for-10 from the floor.

Adkins hit all four of his three-pointers and went 6-of-8 for the game for 17 points while also adding five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Ponzo-Meek added 16 points, five assists, and three steals, while Sanders chipped in with 15 points on 3-of-7 shooting from three-point territory off the bench.

The Wildcats shot 50.9 percent from the floor for the game, hitting eight three-pointers, and getting to the foul line on 30 occasions. The defense also forced 17 turnovers, which turned into 23 points at the other end of the floor.

The Wildcats remain on the road for their next contest, as they head to Chestnut Hill on Tuesday night. The men finish off the CACC doubleheader with an 8:00 p.m. tip-off.