PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - An off-shooting night couldn't have come at a worse time for the Wilmington University men's basketball team, as the Wildcats dropped a 71-62 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division contest at Holy Family on Wednesday night in the final road game of the regular season at the Campus Center.
The Wildcats (15-12, 7-9 CACC) are still alive for a playoff spot with one game left in the regular season, as a win against Goldey-Beacom on Saturday will send them into the postseason. Wednesday's loss took the Wildcats out of the running of hosting a First Round Tournament game.
Wilmington shot 21-of-65 (32.3 percent) from the floor and just 4-for-24 (16.7 percent) from three-point territory, both the lowest percentages on the season. Holy Family (10-16, 4-12 CACC) shot 49.1 percent from the floor while hitting 10 three-pointers (10-for-27).
Holy Family took their first double-digit lead with 12:28 to play in the first half, hitting a floater to take a 17-6 lead. Amiri Stewart put in a layup to bring the Wildcats to within 24-21 with 8:01 to play, but the Tigers hit a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to stop the momentum.
The Tigers used a 7-0 run to regain a 31-21 lead before Stewart brought the Wildcats to within 32-29 with another layup with 3:17 left in the half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Taalib Holloman and Amiri Stewart tied the game, 35-35, but the Tigers had the final say at the buzzer, hitting a three to take a 38-35 lead into the halftime break.
A Holy Family 9-0 run pushed the Tigers' lead out to 48-36, but then a Wilmington 8-0 run had the Wildcats back to within five, 55-50, with 9:36 showing on the clock. But the Wildcats couldn't sustain any of their runs, as the Tigers always had an answer. They extended the lead back out to 64-54 with 4:27 to play before a Taalib Holloman fastbreak layup brought the Wildcats back to within 66-61. The Wildcats shot the stop, but went 0-2 with a turnover on their next three possessions. Holloman's layup with 2:45 to play would actually be the final field goal of the night for the Wildcats.
The Tigers went 5-of-7 from the foul line the rest of the way while the Wildcats went 0-for-7 from the field and 1-of-2 from the foul line, unable to find the comeback magic they had against Georgian Court on Saturday.
Randy Rickards and Amiri Stewart led the Wildcats with 14 points each while Stewart finished with three steals, two blocks, and two rebounds. Rickards added six rebounds, two assists, and two steals as well. Justin Thomas scored 12 points while adding a team high eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Skip Burton grabbed seven rebounds and added a team-high five assists.
The must-win game on Saturday will be on Senior Night as the team will honor its seniors prior to the game. The opening tip-off against crosstown rival Goldey-Beacom is set for 6:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.