BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - - The Wilmington University men's basketball team held a 55-53 lead with 7:50 to play in regulation, but Bloomsburg outscored the Wildcats 23-15 down the stretch to take the final nonconference tune-up prior to the beginning of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference slate, 76-68, at the E.H. Nelson Fieldhouse on Sunday.
December starts with three CACC contests before stepping outside the conference again over the holiday break. The Wildcats start with Jefferson on Wednesday before returning home next Saturday against Holy Family.
On Sunday the Wildcats (2-5) scored the first five points of the contest before the Huskies (1-3), came back to tie it, 10-10. A Jordan Perkins bucket gave the Wildcats a 19-14 lead with 8:52 left in the first half, but the Huskies fought back and took a 22-21 lead, and completed the three-point pay for the 23-21 lead with 6:22 left.
The game was tied four more times before the end of the half, and then Danny Walsh gave the Wildcats a 31-29 lead at the half with a bucket in the paint after Justin Thomas grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed the action with 10 seconds left.
The Wildcats gained their largest lead of the game early in the second half, with a bucket from Justin Thomas, 37-31, and again from Kam Cooper, 39-33, with 16:23 left in regulation.
Out of a media timeout, Caleb Matthews hit a mid-range jumper to give the Wildcats a 49-44 lead with 11:18 to play, but then the Huskies went on a 7-2 run to tie the game, 51-51. Randy Rickards put back an offensive rebound to regain the lead, but the Huskies tied it once more, 53-53. Danny Walsh hit a shot to give the Wildcats a 55-53 lead with 7:50 to play, but it would be the final lead of the game for the Wildcats.
The Huskies hit a three-pointer to take the lead and ran of four more points to take a 60-55 lead. The lead grew to 66-60 following a Bloomsburg three-pointer with 2:44 left and they took their first double-digit lead with a pair from the line, 70-60, with 1:39 to play. The Wildcats couldn't get the deficit below eight the rest of the way, settling on the final score, 76-68.
Randy Rickards scored 15 of his team high 20 in the second half, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the foul line. He also tied for the team lead with six rebounds. Kam Cooper was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 14 points, shooing 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Caleb Matthews came off the bench to score eight points while Justin Thomas grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.
The Wildcats' matchup with the Rams is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. tip on Wednesday in Philadelphia.