NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University men's basketball team had the deficit to as few as six point early in the second half, and had the ball with a chance to get even closer, but Goldey-Beacom erupted moments later to run away from the Wildcats, 97-63, for the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Lightning (3-5, 2-0 CACC) hit 16 three-pointers in the contest, nine of which came in the first half. But it was a 13-0 run early in the second half that changed the tide of the game, as the Wildcats (4-4, 1-1 CACC) couldn't keep up in the second half.
Goldey-Beacom nearly blew the Wildcats away in the first half, jumping out to a 14-2 lead in the opening 4:21 of the contest. But the Wildcats hung tough and fought back, scoring nine straight points to climb to within 16-15 with 11:01 showing on the clock. Jordan Harding put in back-to-back layups to bring the Wildcats to with 25-23, and made one of two from the foul line moments later to again bring the Wildcats to within a single point, 25-24, with 6:36 left in the half.
The teams traded three-pointers with Tyler Norwood bringing the Wildcats to with 36-32, but the Lightning used a 4-0 spurt to move ahead by nine, 43-34. Ed Henderson drove to the basket and laid in the final bucket of the half, having the Wildcats hanging close, 43-36, at the half.
The Lightning scored the first five points of the second half and used a 7-2 run to take a 50-38 lead less than two minutes into the half. Danny Walsh and Dawson Grinnage hit back-to-back three-pointers to get the Wildcats to within 53-47 with 17:10 showing on the clock, and had the ball looking to get even closer. Tyler Norwood missed a three-pointer on their next possession, but Ed Henderson came down with the offensive rebound. But the Wildcats couldn't capitalize, as a turnover gave the ball back to the Lightning.
Henderson scored another layup with 15:24 to play, but that would be the last point for the Wildcats for the next 4:33 of game time as the Lightning went on their game-deciding 13-0 run. The Lightning led 70-49 with 10:52 remaining.
Tyler Norwood and Danny Walsh led the Wildcats with 15 points each, as both players hit three three-pointers in the game. Norwood added four rebounds with two assists and an assist while Walsh added three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Henderson came off the bench to score 10 points, adding four rebounds and two blocked shots. Jordan Harding and Dawson Grinnage led the team with six rebounds each.
The Wildcats step away from CACC play for their next two contests, first when they head to Kutztown for another matchup with a PSAC opponent. They head to Kutztown next Saturday, December 15 with an opening tip-off set for 5:00 p.m.
