Press Release Written by Sports Information Graduate Intern MaryKate Rumbaugh
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – With a slow start to the second half, the Wilmington University men's basketball team could not catch up to Shippensburg's lead, as they dropped Tuesday night's nonconference game, 76-59, at Heiges Field House.
Shippensburg (4-0) was all over the boards, pulling down a total of 49, with 16 coming from the offensive end, to Wilmington's (1-3) 30 rebounds.
Tyler Norwood got the Wildcats on the board first, with a three-pointer, which started Wilmington's lead for most of the first half. Danny Walsh would hit one of his four made three-pointers to give WilmU a 22-20 advantage with 7:57 left in the first half, but the Raiders would go on an eight-point run to give them a 28-24 lead. The Wildcats did not score for 3:12, allowing Shippensburg to take the lead, but Wilmington stayed right with them, taking back the lead 33-30 with just two minutes left. With seven seconds left, Wilmington had a one point lead, 36-35 before Shippensburg's Jake Biss was able to knock down a trey ball as the buzzer sounded to give the Raiders a 38-36 lead into halftime.
Dawson Grinnage was able to find Danny Walsh for the layup to tie the game at 38 apiece just 29 seconds into the second half. Shippensburg would then go on a 9-0 run, taking advantage of the Wildcats missed opportunities and take a 47-38 lead. The Wildcats were able to cut the lead down to five to make it a 47-42 game, but the Raiders continued to extend their lead to 10. Shippensburg would tie their score for the first half, with 38 points to the Wildcats 23.
Danny Walsh had a team-high 16 points going 6-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-8 from behind the arc. Jordan Harding came off the bench to score 11 points in 16 minutes, going 4-for-8 from the floor. Freshman Tyler Norwood added 10 points for the Wildcats. Jermaine Head dished out eight assists to go with eight points and seven rebounds.
The Wildcats are back at it after the short holiday break, when they stay in the PSAC and host West Chester University Saturday at the WU Athletics Complex. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.