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NEWARK, Del. - - Double-doubles from Tre Hawkins and Manir Waller helped the Wilmington University men's basketball team defeat Holy Family, 72-60, in a wire-to-wire Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory at the WU Athletics Complex on Wednesday night.
Tre Hawkins scored a game-high 19 points to go with 11 rebounds while Manir Waller scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to lead the Wildcats (5-13, 3-3 CACC) to the South Division victory and even their conference record. Holy Family (6-13, 0-7 CACC) only made four shots from outside the paint in the game, going 4-for-23 from three-point range and 0-for-12 from mid-range outside the paint.
Hamahrie Bowers scored the first five points of the game as the Wildcats never relinquished the lead or even saw a tied score. Manir Waller hit a three-pointer to put the Wildcats up, 20-11, and then an 8-0 run put the Wildcats up 13 points with 7:18 left in the half. Hiram Alexander scored on the fast break during the run and Hawkins scored the final four points with an offensive putback and two from the line, giving the Wildcats a 28-15 lead.
A 9-0 run gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the first half, as a Hawkins dunk sparked another spurt. Justin Perez drove the lane for two and then Denim Perkins hit a three-pointer. Izaiah Credle capped the run with two from the line and the Wildcats were leading 37-19. The Tigers were able to knock six points off the deficit down the stretch, as the Wildcats went into the break leading 40-27.
The Tigers clawed back to within single digits, 46-37, with 14:59 to play but then the Wildcat regained control of the contest with a 10-0 run. Bowers and Perez drove to the bucket and the Perez put in another on the fast break. Waller than capped the run with an old-fashioned three-point play with 11:20 to play, giving the Wildcats a 56-37 lead.
Hawkins gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the game, 68-47, with 6:12 to play and then scored the last bucket of the game for the home team, 72-53. The Tigers scored the final seven points of the game to close the gap at the end, 72-60.
Justin Perez also scored 14 points for the Wildcats, grabbing five rebounds as well. Hamahrie Bowers finished with eight points and four rebounds while Denim Perkins chipped in with five points, seven assists, and four steals.
The Wildcats remain home for one more game this week, as they welcome Bloomfield to the Complex for a cross-divisional matchup on Saturday. They tip-off starting at 3:00 p.m.
