Press Release written by Nathan Foltz
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - - It was another chaotic game for the Wilmington University men's basketball team, but this one didn't turn out in its favor, as the Wildcats lost to Shippensburg University, 95-94, in overtime, on Saturday inside Heiges Field House.
The loss is Wilmington's first of the year, sliding them to 3-1. Each of the last three games for the Wildcats has been decided in at least one overtime and by two or fewer points, after the 2024-25 season saw zero overtime games. Shippensburg, meanwhile, improves its record to a 3-1 mark.
The Raiders had the three-ball working early, as they went 8-16 behind the arc in the first half. After Wilmington pulled within one point at 19-20 on a Justin Perez layup, the Wildcat offense cooled and the Raider offense caught fire, with the Cats unable to get within three again the rest of the half. Wilmington faced a 15-point deficit with a little under four minutes to play before halftime, but were only able to make up three points of ground with a three each for Perez and Denim Perkins sandwiched around one for Shippensburg.
The Wildcats came out firing to start the second, with Tre Hawkins picking up an and-one, Jaiden Guy hitting a turnaround jumper, and Hawkins again laying one in before Shippensburg could get their first second-half points. Jaylin Horsey then hit back-to-back threes, and just like that, Wilmington was only down 50-49. Wilmington hung just behind for a few more minutes before finally taking their first lead on an Akeem Taylor layup, a lead they would build to six and eventually 11 with 4:54 to go. The Wildcats kept scoring, but so did the Raiders, who slowly chipped into the lead until it was down to two with 39 seconds in regulation. Perkins hit one of two free throws to make it an 85-82 lead, but Shippensburg came back down the court, called a timeout, and drew up a play that opened up a three-pointer to tie it with two seconds left.
In the Wildcats' third trip to overtime this season, they went down by three to start before Perez nailed a three to even it. Horsey made two free throws to go up two, then the Raiders made a layup and a separate free throw to retake the lead. Hawkins laid one in, and Perkins hit two from the charity stripe to get back up three with 1:20 to go, but that ended up being the final basket Wilmington would make in the contest. Shippensburg laid one in 15 seconds later, and then, with seven seconds left, they tipped one in to take the lead one last time. The Wildcats had another opportunity to steal a dramatic last-second victory at the other end, but Perkins lost his footing driving to the basket, and the Raiders won a jump ball to end the game.
Tre Hawkins led the box score for the Wildcats, notching his second double-double of the year on the back of 21 points and 13 rebounds. Jaylin Horsey had 17 points with five assists, Denim Perkins had 16 with three assists, Akeem Taylor tallied 12 points, and Justin Perez was strong once again off the bench with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Wilmington turned the ball over 22 times compared to 15 for the Raiders, and off of those turnovers, Shippensburg scored 25 points while Wilmington only had 15. Both teams shot well from distance, with Wilmington finishing 9-23 (39.1%) and Shippensburg 10-27 (37.0%) in three-point field goals.
Wilmington will travel up to Bridgeport on Tuesday for their next game, with that contest set to start at approximately 7:00 p.m. following the women's game.
