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NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University men's basketball team hung on to a seesaw Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference battle with Holy Family, 64-62, on Wednesday night at the WU Athletics Complex.
The back-and-forth affair saw 10 lead changes and nine tied scores in the contest, including the game being tied on seven different occasions in the second half alone. Marcus Pierce broke a 60-60 tie with a pair from the foul line with 4:12 to play, and the Wildcats never relinquished the lead.
A Holy Family bucket with 5:09 left in the first half gave the Tigers (6-9, 0-5 CACC) a 26-21 lead, but then the Wildcats (8-5, 2-2 CACC) followed with three-pointers on three straight possessions to take the lead. Kaleb Hedgepeth started the run from straight away and then Caleb Matthews followed from the left wing. After a defensive stop, Justin Thomas gave the Wildcats the lead, 30-28, with the third straight three-pointer. Thomas would then give the Wildcats their largest lead of the night, 37-30, with 1:38 to play in the half with a pull up jumper from the elbow.
The Tigers scored the final six points of the half however, cutting the Wildcats' lead to 37-36 heading into the break.
The game was tied twice on the first four possessions of the second half, but then the Wildcats took five-point leads of a pair of Taalib Holloman fast break dunks, the last coming with 15:08 to play.
The Tigers went on an 8-0 run following Holloman's second dunk, taking a 52-49 lead with 11:42 to play. Jordan Jackson hit a jumper as the shot clock was winding down to give the Wildcats a 58-56 lead with 7:16 to play, but then the Tigers scored the next four points to regain a 60-58 lead with 5:34 to left.
Amiri Stewart tied the game for the ninth and final time, 60-60, with a floater in the lane. The Tigers missed their next shot and Randy Rickards pushed the defensive rebound ahead to Marcus Pierce. He was fouled, but hit both from the foul line to give the Wildcats a 62-60 lead with 4:12 to play. Holloman made it a 64-61 game with a layup and the Tigers' could only hit one from the foul line with 3:01 to play, making it 64-62. Neither team would find the bottom of the net again.
Justin Thomas missed a pull-up three-pointer with 13 seconds left but Taalib Holloman skyed high for the offensive rebound. He missed the first of a one-and-one and the Wildcats had to win it on defense. The Tigers couldn't get a clean shot off and forced one up at the buzzer that was off the mark.
Justin Thomas led the Wildcats with 15 points, hitting three three-pointers in the game. Jordan Jackson finished with 13 points, four assists, and five steals, while Taalib Holloman scored double digits for the second game in a row with 11 points while adding seven rebounds. Randy Rickards added four points, 10 rebounds, and three steals.
The Wildcats head to nationally ranked No. 16 Dominican on Saturday to continue their CACC play. The men cap the CACC doubleheader in Orangeburg, New York, with a 3:00 p.m. tip.