NEWARK, Del. - - In a battle between teams that call Newark home, the Wilmington University men's basketball team upset NCAA Division I foe and in-state brethren Delaware, 71-62, on Friday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The game was just an exhibition for the Wildcats, as the 2025-26 season officially begins next Friday, November 14, against the University of District of Columbia, but goes into the loss column for the Blue Hens (0-2). It is the second time the Wildcats have defeated an NCAA Division I opponent as they took down Maryland Eastern Shore, 65-62, on December 21, 2013.
Wilmington joins Hawaii Pacific and Northwood as NCAA Division II teams that have defeated an NCAA Division I program in exhibitions this week.
The Wildcats scored the first bucket of the game and then tied things up, 7-7, with a Tre Hawkins three-pointer. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jaylin Horsey and Jaiden Guy tied the game, 13-13, and then Guy scored again to send the game into the first media timeout tied, 15-15.
The Wildcats went on a 9-2 run to take their largest lead of the first half, 35-25, getting a long three-pointer from Jaylin Horsey and a tip-in from Elson Berhanu with 5:15 to play before the break. But the Blue Hens answered with a 7-0 run of their own and eventually tied the game, 37-37. Denim Perkins was fouled on the last shot of the half, but only hit one of three from the line, but still sent the Wildcats into the break leading, 38-37.
The Wildcats started the second half on an 8-4 spurt to take a 46-41 lead. The Blue Hens battled back though, taking a 47-46 lead with 14:13 to play. The lead would be short lived though, as the Wildcats fought back and the game would change hands or be tied four more times. Two free throws from Tre Hawkins sparked a 8-0 run for the Wildcats, with Hiram Alexander putting in an offensive rebounds and Akeem Taylor and Jaiden Guy putting in layups.
Tre Hawkins (left) then scored four straight to give the Wildcats a 62-52 lead with 7:29 to play. Jaiden Guy scored off a steal by Denim Perkins and then Tre Hawkins gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the day with a layup, 66-52, with 4:11 to play. The Blue Hens could only close the gap to within eight points the rest of the way, as the Wildcats held off their NCAA DI brethren for the 71-62 win.
The Wildcats turned 16 Delaware turnovers in 19 points while also outscoring the Blue Hens on the break, 20-8.
Tre Hawkins led the Wildcats with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Jaiden Guy added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the double-header. Jaylin Horsey and Akeem Taylor each scored 10 points as well. Denim Perkins finished with four points, four assists, and five steals.
The Wildcats travel to the District of Columbia for two games next weekend to start their season, playing UDC on Friday and D'Youville on Saturday.
