BLOOMFIELD, N.J. - - A furious late-game comeback by the Wilmington University men's basketball team ran out of steam as Bloomfield came away with the 78-70 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference cross-division contest on Saturday inside The Gym.
Despite leading the entire game, the Bears (14-6, 6-3 CACC) needed to hold off the Wildcats (11-8, 5-3 CACC) down the stretch, even when they thought they put the game away.
The Bears held a lead of around 10 points for the majority of the second half, answering every Wilmington run to get back to a double-digit lead. The lead grew to as large as 17 points with 3:28 to play, 70-53, before the Wildcats clawed to within 75-70 with 21 seconds left. But the Bears were able to hang on the rest of the way to give the Wildcats their second straight loss.
The Wildcats had their worst shooting performance from beyond the three-point arc of the season, shooting 4-for-19 for the game. They went 1-for-11 from deep in the second half alone.
The Bears scored the first six points of the game and extended the run to as large a lead as 16-4 with 12:30 to play in the half. The Wildcats couldn't get any closer than eight points until a Taalib Holloman three-pointer made it 30-23 with 1:17 to play. Another Amiri Stewart three-pointer made it 32-26, but the Bears had an offensive tap-in right before the buzzer, giving the Bears a 34-26 lead at the break.
Back-to-back buckets by Stewart and Skip Burton brought the Wildcats to within six again, but the Bears answered right back a 5-0 run to regain a double-digit lead. Kaleb Hedgepeth put in a layup and Nalik Veasley converted a three-point play to again get the Wildcats to within six, 45-39, but the Bears pushed it back out to a 10-point lead with 12:26 to play.
Bloomfield went on a 10-2 run starting with 6:42 to play to take their largest lead of the game, 70-53, with 3:28 to play.
Marcus Pierce sparked a run with a layup, followed by a Brycen Williams jumper and an Amiri Stewart dunk. Four straight points by Pierce brought the Wildcats to with single digits, 72-63, with 1:44 to play and then an offensive put-back by Veasley had it all the way to within six, 74-68, with 34 seconds left. Marcus Pierce hit a layup and was fouled, but missed the foul shot with 21 seconds left, getting the Wildcats to as close as five points, 75-70. After two free throws by the Bears, the Wildcats missed a three-pointer, and the Bears secured the rebound and the game.
Nalik Veasley finished with a double-double, leading the Wildcats with 14 points and 10 rebounds, shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor. Marcus Pierce scored 13 points while leading with six assists and adding four rebounds. Amiri Stewart chipped in with 10 points, six steals, five rebounds, and four assists.
The Wildcats return to action on Wednesday and look for the season sweep of CACC South Division foe Chestnut Hill on the road. The game in Philadelphia is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. tip in Sorgenti Arena.