ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - - A strong first half was tough to sustain for the South Division No. 4 seeded Wilmington University men's basketball team as North Division top seed Dominican clamped down for a 98-83 victory in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament First Round game inside the Hennessy Center on Tuesday night.
Dominican (20-7) came out of the halftime break and shot 60 percent from the field, scoring 57 points to pull away from the Wildcats (9-20). The win propels Dominican to the CACC Tournament Semifinal where they will meet Bridgeport on Saturday afternoon.
Justin Perez took over the early going for the Wildcats, scoring back-to-back layups to tie the game, 12-12. He then hit a three-pointer to give the Wildcats the 15-12 lead. Jaylin Horsey hit a three-pointer for the 20-17 lead and the Wildcats would hold the lead for the majority of the first half. Perez and Tre Hawkins put in back-to-back layup, giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game, 30-23, with 5:55 to play before the break.
Denim Perkins hit a three-pointer for the 34-28 lead but then the Chargers started to battle back. They went on a 7-0 run to take the 35-34 lead. Hiram Alexander tied the game, 38-38, with a back-door layup, but the Chargers finished the half with a three-pointer, taking a 41-38 lead into the break.
After Perez scored two from the line to start the second half, Dominican went on a 6-0 run to take a 47-40, forcing the Wildcats into an early timeout. Izaiah Credle brought the Wildcats to within 50-47, with 15:35 to play, but another 8-0 Charger spurt put them back in control, 58-47, with 13:19 left on the clock. Another 10-0 run gave the Chargers ahead, 68-50. The Chargers took their largest lead of the game, 89-65.
The Wildcats made a final push following a technical foul, hitting both free throws and then a three-pointers to make it 93-76 with 3:17 to play. Another Horsey three-pointer brought the Wildcats to within 14 points, 95-81, with 1:20 to play, but the Chargers' defense tightened and finished out the contest on top.
Justin Perez scored 14 of his team high 23 points in the first half, shooting 8-of-13 from the floor for the game, including three three-pointers. Izaiah Credle scored 18 points while adding five rebounds. Jaylin Horsey finished with 13 points while Tre Hawkins scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Manir Waller scored eight points while leading the team with 11 rebounds. Denim Perkins dished out six assists in the loss.