NEWARK, Del. - - Junior point guard Herbert Dennis tallied a career high 26 points but it wasn't enough as Nyack College overcame a six point halftime deficit to defeat the Wilmington University men's basketball team, 78-77, on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference action.
Dennis tied for the third most free throws made in a game, shooting 15-for-16 from the foul line, adding a 5-of-8 performance from the floor to give him a new career best 26 points. He also dished out eight assists for the Wildcats (4-16, 4-8 CACC) while playing in all 40 minutes. Freshman Shai Henry also scored a career high with 16 points off the bench, nearly going perfect from the floor with a 7-for-8 performance. Senior Isiah Mason also collected double figures with 11 points while classmate Brandon Fox tallied a new career high with five blocks in the contest.
The Wildcats shot a remarkable 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) from the floor in the first half including a 6-for-7 performance from the foul line. But Wilmington settled down and shot 27-for-49 (55.1 percent) from the floor for the game, which still finished as the team's single game high for field goal percentage this season. The Wildcats hit 4-of-14 three-point attempts and was 19-for-24 from the foul line for the game as well.
Wilmington was hurt by 15 turnovers for the game which Nyack (4-16, 2-11 CACC) turned into 20 points, 12 of which came in the second half. The Wildcats were only able o get four point off eight Warrior turnovers.
Nyack was led by freshman Will Robinson's 26 points, 15 of which came in the second half where he shot 6-of-8 from the floor. Chris Hampton also tallied 20 points for the Warriors in the victory.
The momentum seemed to be on the home team's side heading into the halftime break as the Wildcats scored the final six points, capped by a Dennis 30 foot three-pointer at the buzzer. Freshman Tajee Almon hit a layup and converted the old-fashioned three-point play to break a 39-39 tie with 1:13 to play prior to the Dennis heave.
The lead grew to as large as nine point early in the second half as Almon made the most of his five minutes of action and hit another layup, this time directly off an inbounds play, to give the Wildcats a 55-46 lead with 12:12 remaining in regulation.
The Warriors then went on a 12-0 run to take a three point lead with 10:14 remaining in the game before the teams battled back and forth for the next six minutes. Tied for the 11th in the game at 66-66, Dennis hit his second free throw to give the home team a one point edge with 3:50 showing on the board. But on the ensuing possession for the Warrior, Robinson converted a layup and was fouled, making it a three-point play to give the visitors a 69-67 lead with 3:37 remaining. Nyack would not give up the lead the rest of the way.
Nyack kept the Wildcats in the game in the final minute, missing five free throws in the final 60 seconds. Wilmington took advantage by keeping the score within striking distance, but could never get closer than two points before Mason hit a three-pointer with 2.9 seconds showing on the scoreboard. Nyack's Miguel Martin missed a pair of free throws but Henry's full court shot was wide right as the buzzer sounded.
Wilmington again received some help from University of the Sciences today, as it fell to Caldwell to drop to 6-7 in the CACC. The Wildcats remain one game before the Devils in the loss column with five games left on the 2012-13 schedule. The Wildcats head to Chestnut Hill next for a Tuesday night matchup in Philadelphia starting at 8 p.m.