NEWARK, Del. - - It took the team's highest shooting percentage and the most three-pointers of the season for Georgian Court to take down the Wilmington University men's basketball team but that's exactly what happened as the hot shooting Lions won, 93-86, in a tough Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division contest on Tuesday night at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Lions (9-6, 5-1 CACC) won their fourth straight road contest by shooting 60.8 percent from the floor (31-of-51), including hitting 12-of-22 from beyond the three-point arc. The Wildcats (8-7, 2-4 CACC) had their second-best performance from the floor on the season by shooting 55.4 percent (31-of-56), but key stops couldn't be made as the Lions escaped.
The Wildcats used a quick 7-0 run early in the game to jump out to a 9-2 lead. Randy Rickards converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 18-9, and then put home a fast-break layup and hit the free throw for another old-fashioned three-point play for a 24-16 lead. Amiri Stewart blocked a shot on the ensuing Lions possession and then Justin Thomas came down and hit a three-pointer, giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game, 27-16, with 9:45 to play in the first half.
The Lions cut the deficit to 33-32 with 5:49 to play before Jordan Jackson hit a three-pointer. Marcus Pierce drove to the bucket and converted an old-fashioned three-point play and then Rickards hit a long two-pointer to give the Wildcats a 43-39 lead with 1:48 left in the half. They took a 43-40 lead into the locker room.
Amiri Stewart started the second half with a layup but then the Lions went on an 8-2 run to take their first lead of the half, 48-47, with 16:16 left. Stewart put in another layup and forced Georgian Court into a timeout, 56-52, with 13:47 showing on the clock. Out of the timeout, the Lions went on a 9-1 run, taking a 61-57 lead on a three-pointer with 10:58 to play.
Every time the Wildcats earned a bucket and looked for a stop, the Lions stepped up and made the shot to stem the Wildcats' momentum. The Lions' lead grew to 69-63 before four straight points from Amiri Stewart and a layup from Randy Rickards brought them back to within 71-69. But the Lions answered with a three-pointer to stem the tide.
The Wildcats had back-to-back possessions to tie the game, 76-74, but turned the ball over on both possessions, the second with 4:38 to play. Amiri Stewart made it 78-76 with a layup and the Lions finally missed a shot, but the Wildcats couldn't corral the rebound and the Lions hit a three-pointer once again.
Amiri Stewart converted a three-point play and then came up with a big defensive rebound at the other end. He was eventually fouled and went to the line looking to tie the game with 2:06 to play. He hit the first but missed the second. The Lions came down and made a layup to extend the lead back out to 85-82. The dagger came after the Wildcats missed a three-pointer on their end and then the Lions nailed one in the corner in front of their own bench with 35 seconds left, 88-82.
All five starters scored in double digits for the Wildcats, led by Amiri Stewart's 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 8-of-9 from the foul line, while playing against his father who is the head coach of the Lions, Terrence Stewart. He added five rebounds and three steals as well.
Randy Rickards shot 7-of-10 from the floor for 19 points while adding three rebounds and four assists. Justin Thomas finished with 13 points and five rebounds while Jordan Jackson and Taalib Holloman scored 10 points each.
The Wildcats begin a four-game road trip this Friday when they travel to North Jersey to take on Alliance University (formerly Nyack College). They will play on the campus of New Jersey City University on Friday night starting at 7:30 p.m.