CALDWELL, N.J. - - The Wilmington University men's basketball team remained red-hot from beyond the three-point arc on Saturday, defeating Caldwell 75-69 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference cross-divisional matchup on Corino Court.
A game after tying the program record with 17 made three-pointers on Tuesday night, the Wildcats (8-15, 6-8 CACC) hit 16 more on Saturday to overcome foul trouble from the early going and defeat the Cougars (12-10, 8-6 CACC).
Redshirt senior Jermaine Head also tied a single game program record with 14 assists on Saturday, adding 17 points, five rebounds, and six steals in the win. He now has 409 career assists, six off the all-time career mark set by Herb Dennis (2010-14).
Caldwell took an early 2-0 lead, but the Wildcats answered with eight straight points, never relinquishing the lead the rest of the game. Taalib Holloman's three-pointer with 17:35 to play was the lone lead change of the contest, putting the Wildcats up, 3-2.
The Wildcats went 9-of-19 from deep in the first half, getting seven different student-athletes on the scoresheet with a point. Isaiah Daniel-Porter came off the bench and hit back-to-back three-pointers, giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 12 with a 29-17 lead with 7:29 left in the half.
The Cougars clawed back to within four in the first half but, much like the entire game, the Wildcats answered with a big three, as Kam Cooper hit one to go up 35-28 with 2:19 to play before the break. The Cougars scored a layup, but Eli Gibson answered with the final bucket of the half, giving the Wildcats a 37-32 lead into the break.
A steal and a Danny Walsh layup gave the Wildcats a 10-point lead, 44-34, before another steal and Taalib Holloman layup gave the Wildcats a 49-38 lead with 14:06 to play. But again, the Cougars wouldn't let the Wildcats get too far out in front, cutting the deficit back to five with 12:21 to play.
The Wildcats answered back again however, getting three-pointers from Danny Walsh and Chima Okwu-Lawrence to regain a 55-44 lead.
The lead was five once again, 59-54, with 6:18 to play, but this time it was another Daniels-Porter three-pointer from the wing that kept the Wildcats on top. Jermaine Head raced past the defense and laid one in for a 67-57 lead with 3:58 left, but the Cougars had one last push in them.
The home team scored six straight to get within 67-63, but Chima Okwu-Lawrence stopped the run with a three-pointer in front of his own bench with 1:13 to play. Jermaine Head then came away with another steal and this time flushed it home to secure the victory, 72-63, with 1:03 left.
Vaughn Covington hit a pair of three-pointers, but the Wildcats went 3-of-4 from the foul line down the stretch to ice the game.
Kam Cooper hit five three-pointers and finished with 15 points while Danny Walsh hit a pair of three's for 12 points. Daniels-Porter came off the bench and finished with 10 points, hitting three three-pointers. The Wildcats shot 47.3 percent from the floor, including 16-of-33 from three (48.5%).
The Wildcats will look to keep the momentum going when they return to action on Wednesday night against South Division leading Jefferson. The Wildcats fell to the Rams in overtime in their first meeting this year. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.