Hawkins records double-double in Wilmington University’s 71-62 upset win over the Blue Hens

Photo by Bailey Burton on Unsplash

Although it was just an exhibition game for the Wilmington University men’s basketball team, they played as if it were a regular-season match, pulling off a surprising 71-62 victory over the University of Delaware Blue Hens on Friday. This game counted towards the Blue Hens’ record, leaving them with a 0-2 start to the regular season. It is the first time since the 2012-2013 season that WilmU has beaten a Division I school in an exhibition game, and that win was against Howard University.

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Sophomore forward Tre Hawkins led the team in scoring in the win, with 21 points. He also had a double-double in the game by collecting ten rebounds.

Junior guard Jaiden Guy also had a double-double in the victory, as he had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Two other Wilmington players who scored in double digits were junior guard Akeem Taylor (10) and Sophomore guard Jaylin Horsey (10).

WilmU had the advantage in multiple categories in the game, including points in the paint (40-34), fast-break points (20-8), points off turnovers (19-5), turnovers (3-5), and steals (10-4).

Wilmington University also had the advantage in shooting, with the team shooting 37.9% (25-66) and the University of Delaware shooting 37.3%

(22-59). The Wildcats were also the better team at the three-point line in this game, as the team shot 23.8 %(5-21), and the Blue Hens shot 12.5% (3-24).

Wilmington University leads by one at the end of the first half.

The game started with the Blue Hens jumping out to a 13-7 advantage with 15:07 left in the opening half. Tyler Houser and Macon Emory came out strong on this drive, scoring nine of the 13 points.

WimU punched back by dashing off on a 14-2 run to grab a 21-15 edge with 9:31 remaining in the first half. Jaylin Horsey, Jaiden Guy, and Tre Hawkins came alive during this time, scoring 12 of the 14 points.

Fast forward to the 5:15-minute mark, where the Wildcats’ lead would grow to ten (35-25), when junior forward Elson Berhanu hit a tip shot.

UD came firing back by outscoring Wilmington 12-2 to tie the game at 37 with four seconds left in the opening half.

The Wildcats would end the first half with a one-point advantage (38-37) when Sophomore guard Denim Perkins hit one of his three free throw shots.

WilmU pulls off the shocking 71-62 upset!

The Division II Wilmington University continued to play with no fear in the early minutes of the second half, as they went on a 6-2 run to push the lead to 44-39 with 17:34 left in the game. Jaiden Guy had two points and collected two rebounds during this stretch.

UD stormed back by going on an 8-2 run to take a 47-46 edge with 14:13 remaining in the second half.

For the next two minutes and 13 seconds, the lead would bounce back and forth with the two teams tying the score at 50 at the end of that stretch.

After that, WilmU surged by scoring eight straight points to grab a 58-50 advantage with 9:59 left in the game. Tre Hawkins had two points and two rebounds during this run.

Fast forward to the 4:11 minute mark, where Hawkins was at it again, hitting a jump shot to give the Cats a 14-point lead (66-52).

The Blue Hens outscored Wilmington 10-5 for the rest of the game, but it didn’t matter, as the Cats still took home a 71-62 upset win.

Team Stats

Team Stats	Wilmington University
FG	25-66	22-59
Field Goal %	37.9	37.3
3PT	5-21	3-24
Three Point %	23.8	12.5
FT	16-23	15-18
Free Throw %	69.6	83.3
Rebounds	39	43
Offensive Rebounds	11	10
Defensive Rebounds	28	33
Assists	8	11
Steals	10	4
Blocks	3	5
Total Turnovers	7	16
Points Off Turnovers	19	5
Fast Break Points	20	8
Points in Paint	40	34
Fouls	12	19
Technical Fouls	0	0
Flagrant Fouls	0	0
Largest Lead	14	6