Video recap at bottom of release.
NEWARK, Del. - - The hot shooting in the first half carried the Wilmington University men's basketball team a they defeated Georgian Court, 81-62, in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division action at the WU Athletics Complex on Wednesday night.
The distance of the shot did not matter for the Wildcats (15-7, 10-3 CACC) in the first half, as they put in 52 points to jump out to a large lead in the first half. They hit on 19 of their 33 shots from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, with over half of their made shots coming from beyond the three-point arc. The Wildcats shot 10-of-15 from deep to outpace the Lions (1-21, 1-13 CACC).
The Wildcats hit their first three three-points of the game, as Omari Dill-Pettiford started off with eight of the team's first 13 points. The Lions had the game to within 15-14 with 12:55 to play in the half, but the Wildcats began to pull away. A 13-4 run capped by a Nick Richards steal and dunk put the Wildcats ahead by double digits for the first time, 28-18, with 10:03 showing on the board.
Tyaire Ponzo-Meek hit 4-of-4 from beyond the arc in the first half, including back-to-back triples to put the Wildcats up, 34-22, with 7:39 left. Brian Adkins got in on the act as ell, scoring eight straight points on his own, including two triples, to put the Wildcats up 47-26 late in the first half. Dill-Pettiford hit his fourth and final three-pointer of the half to cap the Wildcats scoring, sending the Wildcats into the break with a 52-30 advantage.
The Wildcats scored the first four points of the second half to take their largest lead of the night, 56-30, but the second half was off to a much slower start than how the first half was played.
Ponzo-Meek hit a three-pointer from the corner in front of his own bench while being fouled, completing the four-point play to put the Wildcats up 62-38, with 13:05 to play. The senior then capped his excellent three-point night with his seventh and final three-pointer, 79-53, with 4:39 left in regulation. He shot 7-of-8 from long distance, finishing with a game-high 26 points.
Dill-Pettiford scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half to pace the Wildcats, shooting 4-of-6 from deep while adding a team-high seven rebounds on the night. Richards finished with 17 points but in a much different way than Ponzo-Meek and Dill-Pettiford, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor and 7-of-12 from the foul line. He added five assists and four steals as well. Adkins came off the bench to score 12 points, adding five rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
The Wildcats shot 13-of-28 from three-point territory for the game and 29-of-61 (47.5 percent) overall.
The Wildcats are home for their next two games, starting with Nyack on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.
