PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - For the fifth consecutive year in which they played, the Wilmington University men's basketball team will play in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament, clinching a spot in the South Division with an 82-68 victory over Chestnut Hill on Saturday inside Sorgenti Arena.
With one game to play in the regular season, the Wildcats (10-17, 7-10 CACC) will be one of the four teams from the South Division in the CACC Tournament. The last time out (2019-2020), the Wildcats advanced to the CACC Tournament Semifinals.
Locked in a tight game late, the Wildcats fired off three-pointers to separate themselves from the Griffins (12-12, 9-7 CACC). Danny Walsh started the barrage with a three-pointer to tie the game, 5-3-53, with 10:55 to play. Justin Thomas hit back-to-back threes and then Caleb Matthews hit another one from deep and all of a sudden, the Wildcats were leading 62-55 with 8:56 to play.
Randy Rickards' offensive putback gave the Wildcats their first 10-point lead of the game, 65-55 with 7:56 to play and the Wildcats never looked back. Danny Walsh and Justin Thomas made back-to-back layups for the 74-61 lead. From Danny Walsh's three-pointer with 10:55 started the Wildcats on a 32-15 run to end the game.
Chestnut Hill raced out to a double-digit lead in the first half, using a 10-0 run to turn a tied game, 13-13, into a 23-13 lead. The Wildcats closed the gap to 23-20 with a 7-0 run and then Nalik Veasley tied the game, 27-27k with a jumper. A Rickards old fashioned three-point play gave the Wildcats a 33-29 lead before the Griffins scored the final bucket of the half to cut the Wildcats' lead to 34-33 at the halftime break.
Justin Thomas scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, ending with a double-double with 12 rebounds while adding four assists. Danny Walsh led the scorers with 21 points while Randy Rickards finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Nalik Veasley came off the bench to score 10 points. Caleb Matthews hit a pair of three-pointers and dished out a team high five assists.
The Wildcats have one game left with a chance to move into third place in the South Division. They would need to win their game against Goldey-Beacom next Saturday and also have the Lightning lose their other two games of the regular season.