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Press Release written by Mitchell Coll
NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University men's basketball held off a late-game surge by the Lincoln University Lions to win by one point, 66-65, Monday night at WU Athletics Complex.
The Wildcats (6-4) started on the right foot in the first half. The 'Cats shot 14-of-26 from the field for a 53.8 shooting percentage. They also went 5-of-12 from beyond the arc for a shooting percentage of 41.7 percent.
The Wildcats spread the ball around early as four of Wilmington's five starters found the basket two minutes into the game. A steal by Jordan Jackson led to a Randy Rickards fast break layup that put the Wildcats on a 9-2 run to open the game with 16:43 left of play.
Randy Rickards and Jordan Jackson would link up again on a fast break opportunity as Rickards grabbed a defensive board at 12:59 and found Jordan Jackson, who connected from beyond the arc. The Wildcats found themselves up 12, 22-10.
Midway through the first half, Skip Burton added an offensive presence as Burton hit a free-throw and the next possession later hit a three-pointer with 9:31 left in the first half. After the Burton three-pointer, Taalib Holloman was responsible for the Wildcat's following four points, which gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the half at 15 points.
The Wildcats went into the half up 37-24. Jordan Jackson had 13 points, two assists, one rebound, and one steal in the first half. Amiri Stewart added seven points and a block going into the half.
To the Lions' credit, they were able to piece themselves back into the game in the second half as the Lion's Korey Williams led the charge by scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half.
The Wildcats recorded their first points four minutes into the second half, as Amiri Stewart earned a pair of free throws and made both. The following points for the Wildcats came again from the line as Justin Thomas converted two free throws with 15:10 left in the game.
The Wildcats held a comfortable 16-point lead with seven minutes to play following a Justin Thomas three-pointer, 59-43. However, a Lions 14-3 run from then on found the Wildcats' lead down to two points with 2:08 left to play. The Lion's Freddie Young, Jr. tied the game at 62 with 56 seconds left.
As the game was tied at 62 apiece, the Wildcats turned to Justin Thomas. Thomas secured the ball from the inbound and found his spot at the elbow on the right side. Thomas connected on the shot to give the Wildcats the 64-62 lead with 29 seconds left to play. The Lion's next possession ended in a missed layup, as Thomas grabbed the rebound. The Wildcats were in the double bonus, and Thomas put the game out of reach by putting the Wildcats up by four points.
Justin Thomas scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and added seven rebounds, one assist, and a block. Jordan Jackson finished the game with 16 points with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Taalib Holloman added 10 points, and Randy Rickards finished with eight points and 12 boards.
The Wildcats have another quick turnaround as they will welcome The University of District Columbia on Wednesday, December 14, at 7:00 PM.