Press Release Written by Sports Information Graduate Intern Mary Kate Rumbaugh
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – A 19-6 start to the second half helped lead Millersville past the Wilmington University men's basketball team, 98-87 in a nonconference matchup at the Pucillo Gym on Thursday night.
The Wildcats (0-3) stayed with the Marauders (2-1) to begin the contest, keeping it near a five-point difference, but around the 10th minute Millersville started a run of seven straight points to put them up 27-15. Wilmington would get it to a nine-point contest on a three pointer from Jordan Harding, but the Marauders would jump back out to a 15-point lead with 5:40 left to play in the first half.
Senior Jermaine Head would get the Wildcats going with 4:53 to play on a made free throw to start a 14-3 run by the Wildcats, which included back-to-back three pointers from Head to bring the score to 42-38 with 46 seconds left until the half. Freshman Taalib Holloman would sink two free throws to put the Wildcats down two, but Millersville would hit a last second shot from half court to take a five-point lead into the break.
WilmU came out of halftime slow, as the Marauders scored the first eight points of the half to regain a 53-40 lead. The Wildcats wouldn't hit their first shot of the half until four minutes in, on a shot from Tyler Norwood. Milllersville would outscore the Wildcats 19-6, including three straight buckets, to increase their lead to an 18-point margin, making it 64-46 with 13:14 left to play.
Jordan Harding would bring the difference back to 10 on a three ball with 7:17 left in regulation, before Tyler Norwood made it an eight-point difference on a jumper a minute later. The Marauders would score 11 points within the next three minutes to increase their lead back to 86-73 and maintain the 10-point lead for the remainder of the contest.
Jermaine Head led the Wildcats with 27 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Tyler Norwood added 17 points, going 6-6 from the free throw line, with three assists and six rebounds. Jordan Harding chipped in with 13 points, as Danny Walsh added 12 for the Wildcats.
Wilmington would go 16-18 from the line, but Millersville had the edge overall, shooting 56.3 percent from the floor on the night.
The Wildcats will have their home opener on Saturday when they take on Shippensburg at the Complex. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m.