Strong Second Half Lifts Wilmington University to Season-Opening 93-73 Victory Over District of Columbia

Photo by Bailey Burton on Unsplash

The Wilmington University men’s basketball team opened the season by earning a 93-73 victory over the University of the District of Columbia Firebirds on Friday.

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Junior guard Jaiden Guy led the team in scoring in the win with 30 points.

Two other Wilmington players who scored in double digits were Sophomore forward Tre Hawkins (13) and Sophomore guard Jaylin Horsey (17).

WilmU had the advantage in multiple categories in the game, including fast-break points (24-12), second-chance points (17-8), points off of turnovers (39-12), turnovers (15-25), steals (20-11), and rebounds (40-32).

The Wildcats were also the better team at the three-point line in this game, as the team shot 40.0%(10-25), and District of Columbia shot 25.0% (8-24). WilmU also bested UDC at the free-throw line in this game, as the team shot 61.9%(13-21), and the Firebirds shot 56.3% (9-16).

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

Wilmington University trails by seven at the end of the first half.

Both teams entered the matchup prepared for a fierce contest. In the first nine minutes and 47 seconds of the game, the lead changed hands multiple times, and the score was tied at 21 with 10:53 remaining on the clock.

Eleven seconds later, the District of Columbia would go on a 12-3 run to grab a 33-24 edge with 7:27 left in the opening half.

The Wildcats would strike back by outscoring the Firebirds 12-6 to pull the deficit to three points (39-36) with 2:09 remaining in the first half. Sophomore forward Tre Hawkins and Jaylin Horsey were finding the basket with ease, scoring eight of the team’s 12 points during that time.

UDC scored four more points to end the opening half with a 43-36 advantage over WilmU.

The Wildcats take home a 93-73 win!

Wilmington had a new pep in their step to start the second half, as the team blasted off to a 24-4 run to grab a 60-47 edge with 14:57 left in the game. Jaiden Guy caused problems for the Firebirds during this stretch, scoring 13 of the team’s 24 points.

Fast forward to the 7:45 minute mark, where the Cats’ lead ballooned to 21 (79-58) when Tre Hawkins rocked the basket for a slam dunk.

Wilmington would add 14 more points to its score for the rest of the second half to seal a 93-73 victory.