Video Recap at Bottom of Page
NEWARK, Del. - - An extraordinarily hot first half sparked the Wilmington University men's basketball team to their first win of the 2021-22 season, defeating Bowie State, 88-78, in the Wildcat's home opener on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Wildcats (1-3) picked up their first win of the season largely on their 20-of-30 shooting from the floor in the first half, including 7-of-13 from beyond the three-point arc, all leading to 50 points at the break. The Wildcats ended up shooting 62.5 percent from the floor for the game (35-for-56), including 11-of-20 from three-point territory (55 percent), but it was the hot start that set the wheels in motion.
With the game tied at 20-20, Justin Thomas hit a three-pointer to give the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish. Randy Rickards put back an offensive rebound for the 28-22 lead and then Jimmy Smith laid one home for the 37-28 lead with 5:54 before the break. Danny Walsh gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead, 39-28, and then the Wildcats scored 11 of the final 13 points of the half, taking a 50-32 lead into the lockerroom.
Bowie State (0-4) started strong in the second half, going on a 13-7 run to cut the deficit to 12 points with 16:49 left in regulation. Jimmy Smith put back a layup and Justin Thomas hit another three-pointer and the Wildcats' lead was back out to 64-47 with 14:12 to play. Jordan Jackson spun in the lane and converted a layup and then Caleb Matthews hit a three-pointer, giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 22 points, 69-47 with 10:27 left.
Jimmy Smith put the exclamation point on the game as well, slamming home an offensive rebound with 3:18 to play, keeping the Wildcats ahead by 22 points. Bowie State whittled the scored down in the final three minutes, but the contest was never in danger following the Smith putback slam.
Justin Thomas led all scorers with 23 points, shooting 9-for-11 from the floor including 5-of-6 from deep. Ethan Tarte, Randy Rickards, and Danny Walsh all scored 11 points while Walsh dished out six assists as well. Jimmy Smith came off the bench to score 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, and two blocks.
The .625 shooting percentage is the second best in a single game in program history. The Wildcats shot .636 (35-for-55) at Washington Adventist on January 21, 2010. The .550 three-point shooting percentage is tied for third best for a single game in program history, tying the 2017-18 team that also went 11-for-20 from deep against Jefferson on January 16, 2018.
The Wildcats are back in action on Sunday, as they welcome West Chester to the WU Athletics Complex for another nonconference contest. The opening tip is set for 3:00 p.m.
