On Tuesday night, Wilmington University was on fire early which is unusual for this team as usually they take some time to develop a rhythm but not in this game. Wildcats used that fast start to beat the University of the Sciences Devils 79-70 at the WU Athletics Complex.
It all started in first half where Wilmington hit three consecutive shots to quickly go up 5-0. Before the first substitutions, Wilmington was up 10-4 with 16:20 left in the first half.
USciences in the first half came within Wilmington’s lead multiple times and at times were only two or three points away from tying the game but they never did. The Wildcats lead all 20 minutes of the first half. The Wildcats lead at the half was 37-28.
Wilmington shot 55.6% from the field while USciences shot 34.4% in the first half.
Wildcats shot 45.5% from the three point line while USciences shot 16.7 in the first half.
Drew Johnson II led the Wildcats in points with 14 in the first half.
Jon McGill led the Devils with 7 points in the first half.
In the early second half, Wilmington had a healthy twelve point lead over USciences but it did not last long.
The Devils went on a 9-3 run with 13:55 left in the game to pull within the lead by 4 points.
After the Devils made their run, Wilmington started their own 11-o run to put the score at 59-44. The run was started by a Tajee Almon jump shot and ended with a Tyaire Ponzo-Meek free throw.
Then those Devils with 8:11 left in the half went on another run, this time hitting four consecutive shots to bring them close to the lead with a 59-52 score.
The second half was a game of runs because with 4:45 left in the game, this time the Wildcats went on 9-4 run to extend their lead to 70-59. The run started with a Omari Dill-Pettiford lay up and ended with a Dill-Pettiford lay up.
USciences would come close to the lead for the next several minutes but they never could get that consistent basket that would tie the game or take the lead.
With about a minute and change remaining in the game, Wilmington sealed the win with a 9-4 run that put the lead at 79-68. USciences Danny Kelly made a layup to make it a 79-70 Wilmington win.
The Wildcats lead all 40 minutes of Tuesday’s game vs the Devils.
Drew Johnson II led the Wildcats with 22 points in the game.
Three other Wildcats had double digits in points and they were Tyaire Ponzo-Meek (18), Omari Dill-Pettiford (15) and Tajee Almon (15).
Almon also had a double-double on the night with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Wilmington (13-6, 8-2 CACC) heads back on the road to take on Holy Family on Saturday. Tip off is at 3 pm ET.
DE SPORTS BLITZ PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
Wildcats: Tajee Almon who had 15 points, 12 rebounds ( 2 offensive, 10 defensive), 2 steals, 2 blocks and went 4 for 4 from the free throw line.
Devils: Brendan Crawford who had 16 points, 6 rebounds ( 2 offensive, 4 defensive) and 3 assists.
Stats:
FG Percentage:
Wildcats: 50%
Devils:42.4%
Free Throw Percentage:
Wildcats:65.2%
Devils:61.5%
Three Point Percentage:
Wildcats:42%
Devils:30%
Rebounds:
Wildcats:41
Devils:34
Blocks:
Wildcats:4
Devils:0
Turnovers:
Wildcats:15
Devils:12
Points off Turnovers:
Wildcats:8
Devils:20
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