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NEWARK, Del. - - Trailing by 11 with six minutes, the Wilmington University men's basketball team turned up its defensive pressure and battled all the way back to defeat Bloomfield, 74-72, in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference cross-divisional contest on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
It was the fourth straight win for the Wildcat (13-9, 6-6 CACC) and the team moved into a tie with Georgian Court in second place in the CACC South Division. The Wildcats are 5-1 in their last six games, including 4-1 in CACC play.
Bloomfield (11-10, 7-5 CACC) hit three three-pointers in a span of 1:58 of game time to take a 68-57 lead with 6:06 to play in the game. From there, the defense stepped up its pressure and forced the Bears into uncharacteristic turnovers down the stretch, allowing the Wildcats to battle back.
Marcus Pierce started a 14-0 game-changing run with a layup. Amiri Stewart started his ferocious finish with his first steal and a fast break layup and then came away with another steal and feed to Justin Thomas for a fast break layup to bring the Wildcat to within 68-63. Stewart then kicked a ball out to Thomas for a wing three-pointer, hitting it to bring the Wildcats to within a single bucket, 68-66, with 3:42 to play.
An off-the-ball offensive foul put Randy Rickards on the line where he converted the first of two. Rickards then came away with a steal and Taalib Holloman made it count at the other end with a three-pointer from the left-wing to give the Wildcats the lead for the first time since the 6:03 mark of the first half, 71-68.
The Bears finally broke the 14-0 run with a layup, 71-70, with 56 seconds left. The Bears got Justin Thomas to miss a three-pointer, but Taalib Holloman kept the offensive rebound alive for Randy Rickards. Rickards was found on the put-back and hit the first of two again. Looking for the go-ahead bucket, the Bears missed the three-pointer and Skip Burton came back and grabbed the rebound. Taalib Holloman went to the line and put the game away, 74-70, with two key free throws.
After they took their 11-point lead, the Bears went 0-for-4 with five turnovers in their next nine possessions. They finished the final six minutes just 2-for-8 with the five turnovers. The Wildcats went 5-for-5 during their 14-0 run.
Amiri Stewart was one of four Wildcats in double figures with 10 points, adding eight rebounds, six assists, and five steals. Justin Thomas led the Wildcats with 17 points, going 3-for-6 from three-point land. Randy Rickards had 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocks while Taalib Holloman added 16 points and four rebounds as well.
The Wildcats will take their four-game winning streak on the road to take on CACC South Division leading Jefferson on Wednesday night. They will play the first game of the CACC double-header with the opening tip scheduled for 6:00 p.m.