ORANGEBURG, N.Y. - - North Division leading Dominican used its full court press to turn away the Wilmington University men's basketball team, 97-68, in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference cross division action at the Hennessey Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (4-13, 2-3 CACC) turned the ball over a season high 22 times on Saturday, as Dominican (10-6, 5-1 CACC) turned them into 28 points at the other end. The Wildcats also only connected on three three-pointers on Saturday, taking a season low 13 attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
The teams were close through the first eight minutes, as Hamahrie Bowers gave the Wildcats a slight lead, 17-16, with a layup with 12:34 to play in the half. Dominican moved right back in front through, starting an 8-0 run to take a 24-17 lead. A three-pointer gave the Chargers' their first 10-point lead, 29-19, and they continued to extend the lead the rest of the way, taking their largest lead of the half with their final bucket, a dunk to put them up, 50-32, going into the halftime break.
Justin Perez hit a three-pointer and put in a layup to bring the Wildcats to within 59-43 before Izaiah Credle converted a three-point play as the Wildcats clawed to within 13 points with 12:49 on the clock. But the Chargers responded with a 6-1 answer to stem the tide. The Chargers used another 8-0 run to extend the lead out to 82-57 on their way to the 97-68 victory.
Hamahrie Bowers led the Wildcats with 18 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the foul line. He also added three rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and an assist. Justin Perez scored 12 points while adding six rebounds and Izaiah Credle scored 12 points off the bench on 5-of-9 shooting. Manir Waller scored seven points to go with six rebounds, three assists, and two blocks while Denim Perkins had five points to go with seven assists and five rebounds.
The Chargers shot 54.5 percent from the floor for the game and was led by Emmanuel Smith's 20 points, five rebounds, and six blocked shots.
The Wildcats return home for the next two games, starting on Wednesday night when they host Holy Family in a CACC South Division game. The men complete the CACC doubleheader with an approximate tip at 8:00 p.m. at the WU Athletics Complex.