STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - - Justin Thomas hit a long two-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in regulation to take the lead and send the Wilmington University basketball team to 73-71 season-opening victory over the College of State Island on Friday night at the Sports and Recreation Center.
The season-opening win was the first for the Wildcats since the record-breaking 2016-17 season in which they started the season 3-0 and went 19-10 overall. It is only the third time in the program's NCAA era (2004-05) that the team won its opening game of the year, joining the 2007-08 and 2016-17 teams.
Although it was Justin Thomas' jumper that sent the Wildcats (1-0) to victory, it wouldn't have happened without a 21-2 run over the final 7:47 of the first half, erasing as large as a 16-point lead by the Dolphins (0-1).
Ethan Tarte hit the game's first bucket, a three-pointer to open the scoring. The Dolphins scored the next seven points to lead 7-3. Randy Rickards put in a layup with 13:10 to play to bring the Wildcats to within 12-11, but the Dolphins answered by using a 20-5 run over the next 5:23 to open a commanding 32-16 lead.
The Wildcats swung back, though, starting with three consecutive layups from Jordan Jackson. Jackson then fed Nalik Veasley for a dunk and the the Wildcats' 8-0 run had them to within 32-24 with 4:30 left in the half. The run continued with more layups from Veasley and Jackson before the Dolphins finally scored to snap the 12-0 Wilmington run.
Amiri Stewart and Caleb Matthews each hit two from the foul line and then Kaleb Hedgepeth tied the game with a layup, 34-34, with 55 seconds left in the half. Jordan Jackson capped off his amazing run with an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Wildcats a 37-34 lead, scoring 11 points during the 21-2 team run.
Justin Thomas put the Wildcats ahead 44-36 early in the second half, but the Dolphins battled back to eventually tie the game, 47-47. They took the home court momentum and took their own lead, 56-51, with 11:14 showing on the clock before a Nalik Veasley dunk tied the game once again, 58-58. Another quick spurt put the Dolphins up five points, 69-64, but Justin Thomas stole a pass at midcourt and put in the easy layup to cap a 6-0 run for the Wildcats, taking the 70-69 lead with 36 seconds to play.
Two Dolphin free-throws gave the home team the 72-71 lead with 25 seconds left, setting up the dramatic finish. Caleb Matthews tried driving the paint but kicked to the Veasley at the elbow. The ball swing back around to the left side to Thomas who stepped inside the three-point arc, raised up between two defenders and hit the long-range two with 4.7 seconds remaining in the game.
The Dolphins turned the ball over on their next possession and Thomas hit one of two free throws to seal the victory.
Thomas led the Wildcats with 17 points, all coming in the second half, on 7-of-15 shooting. Jordan Jackson finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding a game-high nine assists. Nalik Veasley poured in 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting while grabbing five rebounds and adding two blocks. The Wildcats shot 51.9 percent from the flood for the game.
The Wildcats will look to carry the momentum of the victory into Saturday's game against nationally ranked T10/14 Bentley to wrap up the 2022 Tournament of Heroes hosted by Staten Island. The Wildcats and Falcons tip-off at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.