NEWARK, Del. - - An early second half run saw West Chester pull away from the Wilmington University men's basketball team on Sunday, as the Golden Rams took the nonconference contest, 75-58, at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Wildcats (1-4) were unable to repeat the hot shooting performance from Saturday, shooting 21-for-66 (31.8 percent) from the floor and only 5-of-27 (18.5 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.
The Wildcats scored the first five points of the game before West Chester (3-0) got on the board and eventually took a 14-11 lead. The Wildcats fought back and took a 19-18 lead on an Ethan Tarte fastbreak layup with 9:43 left in the first half. But a quick 13-5 run by the Rams gave the visitors a 31-24 lead with 3:49 left before they eventually took their first double digit lead, 36-26, with 2:28 showing on the clock.
Randy Rickards started a 7-0 run by the Wildcats with a bucket and then an old-fashioned three-point play. Justin Thomas slammed one home from Danny Walsh to bring the Wildcats to within 36-33 with 1:25 to play. But the Golden Rams absorbed the blow and came back with a three-pointer and a dunk of their own before the break, taking a 41-33 lead into the lockerroom.
West Chester scored the first four points of the second half as well, before an Ethan Tarte three-pointer had the score at 45-36. The Golden Rams ran off the next nine points, taking an 18-point lead with 15:24 on the scoreboard, 54-36. The lead grew to as large as 24 points on three occasions, the last coming with 8:02 to play in regulation. The Wildcats started to chip away, getting to within as few as 15 points on a Caleb Matthews three-pointer, 71-56, with 3:17 to play, but they couldn't get any closer than 15 the rest of the way.
The Golden Rams shot 42.1 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Wildcats, 56-38.
Randy Rickards and Danny Walsh led the Wildcats with 13 points each while Rickards chipped in with nine rebounds and Walsh chipped in with four assists and three steals. Caleb Matthews came off the bench to score 11 points while adding four assists. Kam Cooper added nine rebounds and three steals as well.
The Wildcats three-game home stand concludes on Wednesday when they have a Thanksgiving Eve matinee at the WU Athletics Complex. They welcome the District of Columbia to Newark for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off. r