Overall Record: 16-13
CACC Conference Record: 11-8
Home Record: 8-6
Away:8-6
Last Game: Lost 2018 CACC Men’s Basketball Championship Quarterfinals 86-57 vs Dominican (N.Y.)
The Wilmington University Wildcats Men’s basketball team showed their youth ( 4 freshmen & 3 sophomores) at times and showed what benefits that youth can bring with ending the season in the CACC Championship quarterfinals. This is the second season in a row that the Wildcats ended the season at the CACC Championship quarterfinals. Also, it was the first time in school history that Wilmington went to back-to-back CACC playoffs. This team was led this season by CACC Rookie of the Year guard Jermaine Head and All-CACC First team guard Nick Richards who led Wilmington’s high power scoring attack.
Related:Wilmington University’s Jermaine Head & Nick Richards Earn 2017-2018 CACC Season Honors
The season started at home at the WU athletics complex with an 81-76 loss to NYIT. The leading scorer of the game for the Wildcats was guard Nick Richards who scored 20 points and had 15 rebounds for a double-double in the game. The double-digit scoring would be a trend for Richards throughout the season.
As we mentioned earlier, Richards was one of the leaders of the team this season scoring 20.6 points per game ( Led Wilmington), 6.3 rebounds per game (2nd on team), 453 total points (2nd on team), and 139 total rebounds (2nd on team) in 22 games.
Three other Wildcats scored in double-digits and they were Jermaine Head (13), Shawn Church (12), and Masner Beauplan (11).
The following game, Wilmington who was still at home got their first win of the season with a 78-67 win against LIU Post. The game was tight in the first half but Wilmington pulled away in the second half, thanks to two big runs the team had. Guard Jermaine Head led the team with 18 points in this game. Scoring in double digits would become a trend for Head this season.
As we mentioned earlier in the article, Head was one of the heavy hitters for Wilmington where he scored 18.5 points per game (2nd on team), 5.3 rebounds (3rd on team), 536 total points ( Led team), and 153 total rebounds (2nd on team) in 29 games.
Three other Wildcats scored in double-digits and they were Richards (16), Shawn Church (15) and Paul Medlin (15).
The following game, Wilmington followed their first home victory up with their first road victory which was a thrilling comeback win. The Wildcats came back from 17 point deficit to win 76-75 against Millersville. Guard Shawn Church hit the winning three-pointer with four seconds left to stun Millersville. Jermaine Head led the team with 32 points in the win. Two other Wildcats hit double digits in the game and they were Nick Richards (18) and Shawn Church (16).
Church averaged for Wilmington this season, 11.3 points per game ( 4th on team), 3.7 rebounds ( 7th on team), 327 total points ( 4th on team) and 108 total rebounds.
The next game, Wilmington lost a close one to Daemen on the road by 79-73. Wilmington followed that loss with a big 73-71 win against #19 Shippensburg. It is believed to be the Wildcats first win over a ranked opponent in the NCAA era. Guard Danny Walsh led the team with 21 points and hit the game-winning three to seal the win. Three other Wilmington players scored in double digits and they were Church (13), Head (11) and Medlin (12).
Walsh averaged 6.3 points per game ( 6th on team) and scored 155 total points ( 5th on team) in 28 games.
Next game the Wildcats loss on the road against West Chester 78-61. Well Wilmington followed that loss up with a four game winning streak against District of Columbia, Holy Family, Goldey-Beacom and American Int’l.
In the first two games in the winning streak, Wilmington was dominant by beating their opponents by 17 and 34 points.
In their opening game in that four-game winning streak against District of Columbia, the Wildcats hung 52 points up on District of Columbia in the first half. Their hot shooting led to a blowout with a score of 94-77. Forward Miles Gillette and Shawn Church led the team with 21 points in the win. Gillette also had 12 rebounds for a double-double in the game. Two other Wildcats scored in double digits and they were Head (12) and Richards (20).
Gillette averaged 13.5 points per game( 3rd on team), 7.4 rebounds per game (led team), 391 total points (3rd on team) and 215 rebounds (led team) in 29 games.
The domination did not stop in the first win of the winning streak, in their second win the Wildcats beat Holy Family by 34 points in Wilmington’s CACC play opener. 34 points is the largest margin the Wildcats have beaten a CACC opponent by. Also, it was the second biggest win margin in the school’s NCAA program era. The first was back in the 2008-2009 season when Wilmington beat Penn State-Abington by 38.
Richards led Wilmington with 24 points in this game and he also had 7 assists as well. Two other Wildcats scored in double-digits and they were Church (13) and Gillette (17). Gillette also had 10 rebounds for a double-double in the game.
In the last two games of their four game winning streak, the Wildcats had much closer wins then the first two games.
As they won 61-59 against their in-state CACC rival Goldey-Beacom and a 69-61 win against American Int’l in the AIC Holiday Classic.
Then in late December, Wilmington went on a cold streak and lost three straight games against Franklin Pierce, Jefferson and USciences.
The Wildcats then rang in the new year with a two game winning streak against CACC foes Chestnut Hill and Georgian Court.
In their first win of the two game winning streak, Wilmington hung on to win a 67-65 thriller against Chestnut Hill. Miles Gillette hit a wide open shot at the buzzer shot to win the game vs Chestnut Hill. Head led Wilmington with 29 points in the game. Two other Wildcats hit double digits in the game and they were Church (12) and Danny Walsh (16). Gillette had 13 rebounds in the win against Chestnut Hill.
After they a took a win on the road, it was time to win at home again and Wilmington did just that against Georgian Court. The Wildcats had the hot hand in that game by winning 92-68 against Georgian Court. Shawn Church had seven three pointers in the win which put him second in school history with the most three pointers in a game.
Gillette had 34 points and 14 rebounds in the blowout win against Georgian Court. Two other Wildcats hit double digits in the game and they were Church (23) and Head (18).
After the back to back wins, the Wildcats lost back to back games against Caldwell and Concordia (N.Y.).
The losing streak did not last long though, Wilmington answered back with a five game winning streak.
Some of the highlights in that winning streak include a dominating 82-66 win at Nyack and three close wins against Holy Family, Felician and USciences.
In the Nyack victory, the Wildcats had strong second half including a 19-0 run which pushed the Warriors farther from the lead. Gillette continued his double-double trend and led the team with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Two other Wilmington players scored in double digits and they were Church (20) and Richards (21).
In the close 60-56 win against Holy Family, Wilmington let a double-digit lead diminish but hung on to claim the victory.
Gillette and Richards led the team with 24 points in the game. Richards also had 14 rebounds for a double-double in the win. Head also scored double digits in the game with 11 points.
Then in the close 82-76 victory over Felician, Nick Richards led the Wildcats down stretch scoring 11 of the team’s final 20 points in the game.
Richards also led the team with 32 points in the win against Felician. Three other Wildcats hit double digits in scoring in the game including Head (16), Walsh (10) and Medlin (12).
In the last game of their five-game winning streak, Wilmington held on and beat USciences 61-54.
Nick Richards led the team in the win with 22 points. Two other Wildcats scored in double digits and they were Head (12) and Walsh (13).
The five-game winning streak tied the program’s longest winning streak and the last one was last season.
Then the Wildcats hit another cold streak in the beginning of February where they lost three straight games to Bloomfield, Dominican (N.Y.) and Chestnut Hill.
Wilmington would bounce back with a two-game winning streak which included wins from Chestnut Hill and Post.
The Wildcats last win at home and on the season overall was the game against Post where they pulled out a 72-66 victory.
Richards led the team with 31 points and Head also chipped in with 23 points in the win.
Wilmington lost the last game of the season at home against Goldey Beacom with a 79-71 finish.
The Wildcats also fell 86-57 in the CACC Men’s Basketball Championship Quarterfinals to Dominican (N.Y.) to end the season.
Stats:
Team:
| Games | PTs Per Game | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | REB Per Game | AST Per Game |
| 29 | 74.2 | 43.1% | 33.2% | 67.7% | 36.9 | 12.7 |
Category Leaders:
| Top 5 WilmU Points Per Game Leaders |
Points Per Game |
|
Nick Richards |
20.6 |
|
Jermaine Head |
18.5 |
|
Miles Gillette |
13.5 |
|
Shawn Church |
11.3 |
|
Masner Beauplan |
8.3 |
| Top 5 WilmU FG% Per Game Leaders |
FG% Per Game |
|
Dawson Grinnage | 83.3% |
|
Danny Walsh |
77.8% |
|
Miles Gillette |
76.3% |
|
Jermaine Head |
75.8% |
|
Masner Beauplan |
72.7% |
| Top 5 WilmU Minutes Per Game Leaders |
Minutes Per Game |
|
Jermaine Head |
36.8 |
|
Nick Richards |
36.5 |
|
Shawn Church |
32.1 |
|
Miles Gillette |
29.9 |
| Danny Walsh |
22.8 |
| Top 5 WilmU Rebounds Per Game Leaders |
Rebounds Per Game |
|
Miles Gillette |
7.4 |
|
Nick Richards |
6.3 |
|
Jermaine Head |
5.3 |
|
Vincent Kent |
4.3 |
| Dawson Grinnage |
4.3 |
|
Top 5 WilmU Assists Per Game Leaders |
Assists Per Game |
|
Jermaine Head |
4.7 |
|
Nick Richards |
3.8 |
|
Shawn Church |
1.5 |
|
Danny Walsh |
1.3 |
| Dawson Grinnage |
0.9 |
| Top 5 WilmU Steals Per Game Leaders |
Steals Per Game |
|
Nick Richards |
2.3 |
|
Jermaine Head |
2.1 |
|
Masner Beauplan |
1.7 |
|
Shawn Church |
1.1 |
| Danny Walsh |
1.0 |
| Top 5 WilmU Blocks Per Game Leaders
|
Blocks Per Game |
|
Vincent Kent | 1.1 |
|
Paul Medlin |
0.8 |
|
Nick Richards |
0.6 |
|
Miles Gillette |
0.4 |
| Dawson Grinnage |
0.4 |
|
Top 5 WilmU Total Points Season Leaders |
Top 5 WilmU Total Points Season Leaders |
|
Jermaine Head | 536 |
|
Nick Richards |
453 |
|
Miles Gillette |
391 |
|
Shawn Church |
327 |
| Danny Walsh |
177 |
|
Top 5 WilmU FG% Season Leaders |
FG% |
|
Dawson Grinnage |
83.3% |
|
Danny Walsh |
77.8% |
|
Miles Gillette |
76.3% |
|
Jermaine Head |
75.8% |
|
Masner Beauplan |
72.7% |
|
Top 5 WilmU Minutes Played Season Leaders |
Minutes |
|
Jermaine Head | 1067 |
| Shawn Church |
930 |
|
Miles Gillette |
867 |
|
Nick Richards |
803 |
| Danny Walsh |
638 |
| Top 5 WilmU Assists Season Leaders |
Assists |
|
Jermaine Head |
136 |
|
Nick Richards |
84 |
|
Shawn Church |
44 |
|
Danny Walsh |
36 |
| Vincent Kent |
20 |
| Top 5 WilmU Steals Season Leaders |
Steals |
| Jermaine Head |
61 |
|
Nick Richards |
50 |
|
Shawn Church |
32 |
|
Danny Walsh |
28 |
|
Miles Gillette |
23 |
| Top 5 WilmU Blocks Season Leaders |
Blocks |
|
Vincent Kent |
32 |
|
Paul Medlin |
17 |
|
Nick Richards |
13 |
|
Miles Gillette |
12 |
| Dawson Grinnage |
4 |
CACC WilmU Rankings:
Points Per Game: Nick Richards: Ranked 2nd in the CACC with 20.6 points per game
Points Per Game: Jermaine Head : Ranked 4th in the CACC with 18.5 points per game
Rebounds Per Game:Nick Richards: Ranked 13th in the CACC with 6.3 Rebounds per game
Assists Per Game: Jermaine Head: Ranked 1st in the CACC with 4.7 assists per game
Assists Per Game: Nick Richards: Ranked 9th in the CACC with 4.7 assists per game
Blocks Per Game: Vincent Kent: Ranked 5th in the CACC with 1.1 Steals per game
Steals Per Game: Nick Richards: Ranked 3rd in the CACC with 2.3 Steals per game
Steals Per Game: Jermaine Head: Ranked 4th in the CACC with 2.1 Steals per game
Total Season Points: Jermaine Head: Ranked 6th in the CACC with 536 Total points
Total Season Points: Nick Richards: Ranked 10th in the CACC with 453 Total points
Total Season Assists : Jermaine Head: Ranked 2nd in the CACC with 136 Total Assists
Total Season Assists : Nick Richards: Ranked 15th in the CACC with 84 Total Assists
Total Season Steals: Jermaine Head: Ranked 3rd in the CACC with 61 Total Steals
Total Season Steals : Nick Richards: Ranked 8th in the CACC with 50 Total Steals
Total Season Blocks : Vincent Kent: Ranked 5th in the CACC with 32 Total Blocks
Awards & Honors:
2017-18 City of Basketball Love Division II All-Area First Team: Nick Richards ( Mar 27, 2018)
2017-18 City of Basketball Love Division II All-Area Second Team: Jermaine Head ( Mar 27, 2018)
2017-18 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM:Nick Richards (Feb 27, 2018)
2017-18 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM:Jermaine Head (Feb 27, 2018)
2017-18 CACC MEN’S BASKETBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:Jermaine Head (Feb 27, 2018)
CACC Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week:Jermaine Head (Feb 26, 2018)
CACC Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week:Jermaine Head (Feb 19, 2018)
CACC Co-Player of the Week:Nick Richards (Jan 29, 2018)
CACC Player of the Week:Miles Gillette (Jan 22, 2018)
CACC Defensive Player of the Week: Nick Richards( Jan 22, 2018)
CACC Player of the Week:Miles Gillette (Jan 08, 2018)
CACC Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week:Jermaine Head (Jan 08, 2018)
CACC Men’s Basketball Rookie of the Week:Jermaine Head (Nov 21, 2017)
College Delaware Sports Blitz 