NEWARK, Del. - - Post had an answer for every Wilmington University men's basketball run in the second half, taking an 81-72 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference road victory on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
Post (12-10, 6-4 CACC) led by three at the halftime break but it was an 11-2 that gave the visitors their first double-digit lead of the night, leading by 14 points with 11:38 showing on the clock. The Wildcats (5-16, 3-6 CACC) clawed all the way back to within five with plenty of time to spare, but the Eagles slammed the door shut and took the cross divisional battle.
Justin Perez hit a three-pointer to put the Wildcats up 11-5 with 15:38 to play in the first half as the Wildcats played with the lead for most of the opening 10 minutes. Manir Waller had a steal and a layup to give the Wildcats a 15-10 lead and then Jihad Simpson answered a three-pointer with a bucket of his own as the Wildcats held a 17-15 lead. Post retaliated and took an 18-7 lead and then the teams traded leads seven times the rest of the first half, in addition to three tie scores as well. With the game tied, 33-33, the Eagles scored the next five points before a bucket from Tre Hawkins had the Wildcats go into the break trailing 38-35.
The Eagles hit the first two buckets of the second half to stretch the lead to seven. A steal and a layup from Waller brought the Wildcats to within 47-42, but a 6-0 spurt leading to a 11-2 run saw the Eagles take a 58-44 lead with 11:38 left. Post took its largest lead of the game, 63-38, with 9:50 to play before the Wildcats start to chip away at the lead.
Three-pointers from Izaiah Credle and Justin Perez started a run for the Wildcats, as a pair from the line by Perez brought the Wildcats to within single digits with 8:27 to play. Credle hit another three-pointer and all of a sudden, the Wildcats were within six points, 65-59. One more from the foul line for Credle brought the Wildcats to 65-60 with 7:18 showing on the clock.
A quick two from the line and a three-pointer had the Eagles back up 10 however, and the Wildcats could only ever get it to as close as seven down the stretch before settling on the final score, 81-72.
Izaiah Credle led the Wildcats with 15 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting, hitting all four of his three-point attempts. Justin Perez scored 14 points while Manir Waller and Jaylin Horsey added 12 points each. Walled also collected seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals in the loss. Hiram Alexander had six rebounds while Perez finished with three rebounds and three steals.
Post went 10-for-20 from three-point territory in the win, adding 21-of-27 from the foul line. The Wildcats went 7-of-20 from deep and 9-of-15 from the line in comparison.
The Wildcats take to the road for their midweek game, traveling to Georgian Court on Wednesday night. The Wildcat and Lions are set to tip-off at 8:00 p.m. in Lakewood, New Jersey.
