NEWARK, Del. - - A game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer hit the front rim for Shai Henry and the Wilmington University men's basketball team as Felician took a 70-67 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory at the WU Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (9-17, 5-12 CACC) scored the first six points of the competition but needed to battle from behind for a majority of the contest, keeping it close down the stretch to set up the game-tying attempt from straight on. Felician (6-17, 4-12 CACC) had as large as a 12 point lead in the second half before hanging on late to escape with the victory.
After coming out with six straight points, all from junior Rashaun Rasheed, the Wildcats saw their lead disappear as the Golden Falcons responded by scoring 15 of the next 17 points to grab a 15-8 lead with 14:26 to play in the opening half. Felician would not relinquish the lead from that point forward.
The first half lead would not get any bigger than seven with the Wildcats closing to within a single point with 5:55 to play after a layup from freshman Drew Johnson. Senior Herb Dennis cut the deficit to three point with 1:42 to play in the first half on a jumper before Felician's Wilmington, Del. native Tim Massado sank a jumper with 24 seconds remaining for the final bucket. Felician carried a 37-32 lead into the locker room.
With the visitors continuing to lead by seven with 14:51 left in regulation, the Golden Falcons hit a three-pointer and a layup to go ahead 53-41, their largest lead of the contest.
From there, the Wildcats used a 14-3 run to close the gap once more on the strength of three-pointer from senior Shaq Monroe-Gaskins and Johnson, and capped by a pair of free throws from Dennis with 4:48 showing on the clock.
A Valentino Thompson layup on their next offensive possession again cut the deficit to a single point with 4:04 to play, but the Wildcats could not get over the hump as the Golden Falcons held on.
Four straight free throws quickly brought the Felician lead out to five points before a layup from Johnson and 1-of-2 form the line by senior Dusan Kojic brought the deficit back down to two. Felician extended the lead back to four with 1:02 remaining before another pair of free throws by Dennis had the game to one possession once more with 45 seconds to play.
Felician's Jamal Reid missed the front end of a pair at the line, giving the Wildcats a chance in the final moments. The out of bounds play from the near corner found Henry at the top of the arc, but his three-pointer hit the front rim as the buzzer sounded.
The Wildcats' shooting numbers were slightly below their season's average but had a chance at the free throw line. They went 22 times, two more than visiting Felician, but hit 15, missing five of the seven in the first half. Felician went 14-of-20 from the foul line, hitting 12-of-18 in the second half.
Johnson led the Wildcats offensively for the second game in a row, scoring 13 points off the bench. The freshman shot 6-of-11 from the floor, hitting his only thre-epointer of the game. Thompson added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Rasheed added 11 points and five rebounds while Dennis rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points, while adding a team high five assists, and going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats have a pair of CACC games left in the regular season and need both, with some help, to find a way into the CACC Tournament. The final chance to catch the Wildcats at home is on Tuesday, as they welcome cross-town rival Goldey-Beacom to the WU Athletics Complex.
Prior to the start of competition on Tuesday, the Wildcats will honor a quartet of seniors playing in their final home game. Senior Night festivities will be centered on Herb Dennis, Shaq Monroe-Gaskins, Prophet Kates, and Dusan Kojic.
