The Wilmington University men’s basketball team pulled off a wild 89-87 overtime comeback road win against the USciences Devils on Wednesday.
It was not looking great for Wilmington in the late minutes of the second half as the team was down by 11 points.
In the last three minutes of the game, WilmU outscored the Devils 18-7 which led the game to be tied at 80. Redshirt junior guard Jermaine Head scored nine of those 18 points to give WilmU a chance to win the game in overtime.
In overtime, it was all about the foul line for Wilmington as the team hit seven free throw shots to take the lead and keep it. Senior guard Thomas Farrior hit a free throw at 32 seconds left to give the Wildcats their first lead in overtime.
Jermaine Head was the leading scorer in the game for the Wildcats with 27 points.
Thomas Farrior recorded a double-double in Wilmington’s win with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Two other Wildcats scored in double digits and they were redshirt sophomore guard Danny Walsh (19) and freshman forward Jordan Harding (14).
WilmU had advantages in two categories in the game and they were steals and turnovers.
Wilmington University had 11 steals and USciences had four in the game. WilmU had nine turnovers and the Devils had 15 in the game.
Wildcats Harding & Walsh Leads With Eight Points In First Half
The leading scorers for the Wildcats in the first half was Jordan Harding and Danny Walsh who scored eight points. The Wildcats overall shot 13 for 34 ( 38.2%) in the first half and the Devils shot 15 for 37 ( 40.5%).
The Wildcats were out rebounded by USciences in the first half 24-20.
WilmU also lost the turnover battle 3-1 in the first half.
The game started with the Wildcats pulling out to a early 5-2 lead which was thanks to Harding’s three point shot and Thomas Farrior’s jump shot.
The 5-2 lead did not last long for Wilmington as the Devils hit back to back shots to give them a 6-5 lead with 16:36 left in the first half.
In next two minutes, the two teams would battle it out with the lead going back and forth constantly.
At the 12:05 minute mark, Wilmington would go on a 7-4 run which would give the team a 23-18 lead with 8:08 left in the half.
WilmU was leading most of the half but the Devils came charging back as the team tied the game at 33 with 1:20 left in the half. The Devils would score four more points in the first half to end with a 37-33 lead.
First Half Stats
Wilmington shot 13 for 34 ( 38.2%) in the first half and the Devils shot 15 for 37 ( 40.5%).
WilmU had 20 rebounds and USciences had 24 in the first half.
Jordan Harding and Danny Walsh was the leading scorers for the Wildcats in the first half with eight points.
Brendan Crawford was the leading scorer for the Devils in the first half with 12 points.
Head Leads Wildcats with 17 To Push The Game Into Overtime
The leading scorer for the Wildcats in the second half was Jermaine Head with 17 points. Wilmington shot much better in the second half as the team went 17 for 29 ( 58.6%) and at the three point line they hit 6 for 9 ( 66.7%).
The Devils shot 15 for 28 ( 53.6%) in the second half and hit 8 of 14 ( 57.1%) three point shots.
The Wildcats had eight steals in the second half and won the turnover battle 6-10 in the half.
The score got a little out of hand for Wilmington as the team was down 11 points with 03:39 left in the game.
In the last three minutes of the game, WilmU outscored the Devils 18-7 which led the game to be tied at 80. Head scored nine of those 18 points to give WilmU a chance to win the game in overtime.
Seven Free Throws Gets The Win In OT
It was all about the free throws for Wilmington in overtime as the team chipped away at the Devils lead in the overtime period with these shots.
The Wildcats hit seven total free throw shots in the overtime period.
One of the biggest free throw shots came from Thomas Farrior who hit a free throw at 32 seconds to give the Wildcats their first lead in overtime.
Then Head would seal the win by hitting one more free throw to give the Wildcats a 89-87 tough comeback road win.
The Wildcats come back home to take on Dominican on January 19th at 3 PM ET.
Team Stats:
FG%: WU 46.3% & USc 45.1%
3P%:WU46.2% & USc 38.7%
FT%: WU 57.7% &USc 61.1%
Rebs:WU 37& USc 48
Ast: WU 15 & USc 19
Stl: WU 11&USc 4
TO: WU9 &USc 15
Blks:WU 1& USc 2
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