PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - Suffocating defense in the second half propelled the Wilmington University men's basketball team to an 80-63 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory on the road at Jefferson on Saturday at the Gallagher Center in the final game of the 2023 calendar year.
The win snaps an eight-game losing streak to Rams while also being the first win inside the Gallagher Center since February 3, 2015.
After a back and forth first half, the Wildcats (7-5, 2-0 CACC) forced Jefferson (5-6, 0-2 CACC) into eight second half turnovers while holding them to just 29 percent shooting from the floor, including just 2-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc. The Rams also didn't help themselves by shooting 10-of-22 from the foul line for the game.
Despite shooting 3-of-14 from beyond the three-point arc in the game, and just 1-for-8 in the second half, the Wildcats shot 47.6 percent from the floor for the game, outscoring the Rams in the paint, 46-34, and off turnovers, 17-10.
The biggest lead of the first half was help by the Rams, 25-19, as Erik Timko hit back-to-back three-pointers to break a 19-19. The Wildcats would later use a 10-0 run to turn around a five-point deficit to take their largest lead of the half, 34-29, with 4:59 to play. The Rams hit a midrange jumper on their final possession to only allow the Wildcats to lead 36-35 at the halftime break.
The game remained close through the first seven minutes of the second half with four ties and two lead changes. The last tie came at 13:09 remaining, as a Rams' three-point play made it a 48-48 game. Marcus Pierce put in a layup to give the Wildcats the lead that they would not surrender the rest of the way.
But the final push started with a Caleb Matthews move in the paint with 11:04 to play, giving the Wildcats a four-point lead and starting an 8-0 run to give the Wildcats their largest lead of the game, 60-50, with 7:44 to play. The lead hovered around 10 points for the next four minutes until another 7-0 run, with the bulk of it coming at the free throw line, pushed the Wildcats' lead out to 80-62 with 1:35 showing on the clock.
Caleb Matthews led four Wildcats in double figures with 16 points, shooing 6-of-7 from inside the three-point arc and 4-of-5 from the foul line. He also added three rebounds and three assists. Amiri Stewart scored 13 points while Kaleb Hedgepeth came off the bench to score 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting with five rebounds and two blocks. Skip Burton scored 11 points to go with a team high seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Ash Kemble came off the bench to provide valuable minutes with six points and six rebounds.
The Wildcats stay in the CACC South Division with their next contest, as they make a return trip to Philadelphia on Wednesday night to take on Holy Family. The opening tip is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. inside the Campus Center.