ALBANY, N.Y. - - Defending East Region Champion New Haven outscored the Wilmington University men's basketball team, 27-14, in the final 10:34 to pick up the nonconference victory, 75-64, on Sunday afternoon inside the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium on the campus of Saint Rose.
The Wildcats (0-2) took a 50-48 lead with 10:42 to play in regulation, but the Charger (1-1) came back and outscored the Wildcats, 27-14, the rest of the way, including eight straight to start the run, to win the nonconference game.
New Haven took its largest lead of the game, 30-16, with 6:52 to play in the first half. LJ Carter hit a three pointer to bring the Wildcats to within 32-23 and then Kaleb Hedgepeth and Marcus Pierce had layups to bring the Wildcats to within 32-29 with 2:31 left before the break. Carter hit another three points and then Taalib Holloman beat the buzzer with a layup at the end of the half, and the Wildcats went into the locker room with a 33-32 advantage. The Wildcats outscored the Chargers, 17-2, over the final 6:13 to take the lead.
Amiri Stewart hit a three-pointer early in the second half to put the Wildcats up, 43-37, giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game with 16:20 to play. Another three-pointer by Caleb Matthews gave the Wildcats a 48-44 lead with 14:22 to play, but a layup and two free throws for the Chargers tied the game, 48-48. Marcus Pierce had a putback with 10:42 to play, giving the Wildcats a 50-48 lead.
But the Chargers answered with an 8-0 spurt, hitting a second three-point in the run to take a 56-50 lead with 9:54 showing on the clock. Amiri Stewart and Caleb Matthews had buckets to bring the Wildcats to within 58-56, but the Chargers scored the next five points to stay in front and lead 63-56 with 5:29 to play. Another quick 8-0 spurt put the Chargers up digit figures, as the Wildcats took a timeout trailing 73-60 with 2:18 to play.
Caleb Matthews led the Wildcats with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Amiri Stewart scored 12 points while hitting a pair of three-pointers, adding four rebounds as well. Marcus Pierce came off the bench to score 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and led the game with five assists.
The Wildcats travel to Shippensburg on Wednesday before making their home debut next weekend. The contest in Pennsylvania is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday night.