LAKEWOOD, N.J. - - A second half scoring outburst allowed the Wilmington University men's basketball team to overcome a five-point halftime deficit and defeat Georgian Court, 86-74, on Wednesday night at the Wellness Center in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division action.
The win keeps the Wildcats (16-11, 11-7 CACC) one game ahead of USciences in the CACC South Division standings for third place. Jefferson's loss to Goldey-Beacom on Wednesday night has kept the door open for the Wildcats to sneak into the second spot and a home playoff game with a win in the regular season finale against Goldey-Beacom and a Rams loss to Holy Family.
A 52-point second half allowed the Wildcats to overcome a five-point halftime deficit, as the visitors were behind by as many as eight points in the first half.
The Wildcats started the second half by scoring the first six points and regain a 40-39 lead in the early going. The contest went back and forth for the next 12 minutes, as neither team could gain a larger lead than four points throughout.
The Lions' Caleb Bowser hit a three-pointer with 6:40 remaining to give the home team a 66-64 lead, but then the Wildcats mounted a game-changing run. Nick Richards tied the game with a layup before Paul Medlin hit two from the foul line. Jermaine Head made it a 6-0 run with a layup and the 70-66 lead with 5:06 showing on the clock.
Head hit a three-pointer with 3:36 to play before Miles Gillette hit another triple to put the Wildcats ahead, 76-68, with less than three minutes left in regulation. Head pushed the Wilmington run to 15-3 with another three-pointer with 1:30 to go, extending the Wildcat lead out to 79-69. The Wildcats went 5-of-6 from the foul line the rest of the way, and capped the comeback victory with a Gillette dunk on the fastbreak.
Head was close to another triple-double on the night, as he led the way with a game high 28 points, adding nine rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Gillette collected 22 points while hitting four three-pointers and Richards was the final Wildcat in double figures with 17 points, four rebounds, and four steals.
The Wildcats shot 53.6 percent from the floor in the second half, hitting 6-of-11 from three-point territory. They also were able to go 16-of-20 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes of play. They held the Lions to 33.3 percent from the floor in the second half.
The regular season wraps up with Senior Day on Saturday against crosstown rival and CACC South Division Regular Season Champion Goldey-Beacom. The opening tip is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. following the women's contest.