Press Release Written by Nathan Foltz
NEWARK, Del. - - Another day, another narrow defeat for the Wilmington University men's basketball team, as they fell in the final seconds to Caldwell, 70-69, at the WU Athletics Complex in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest on Saturday afternoon.
Wilmington's losing streak now extends to five, all against conference opponents, with an average margin of defeat of four points in those games. The Wildcats trailed by only one possession at least once in the final minute in four of the five contests, holding the lead at one point in two of them. Their conference record now sits at 4-11 in CACC play and 8-15 overall, while Caldwell gets over .500 at 8-7 in the conference and 10-12 overall.
The Cougars spent a lot of the game ahead, with their longest stretch spanning about 24 minutes of game time after Wilmington tied the game at 17-17. Caldwell went on a 12-2 run from there, but Wilmington did their best to get back into things with a 14-6 run to end the first half, only trailing 35-33.
Caldwell forced some separation again to start the second by jumping up 43-35, holding a steady lead with an answer every time Wilmington looked to be gaining some momentum. The teams traded runs for a few minutes, with the Wildcats first scoring six in a row and the Cougars responding with four of their own. Wilmington's next spree was the one they sorely needed, though, as they put up eight unanswered to take a 59-58 lead thanks to a Denim Perkins steal and subsequent Akeem Taylor layup.
The rest of the game was tight, with neither team able to get much breathing room. Inside two minutes and down by three, Zavion Bianchini hit a floater in the paint that made it a one-point ballgame. Following a Justin Perez block and a Caldwell three-point miss, Perkins hit his own floater from the same spot as Bianchini to give the Wildcats a 69-68 lead with 52 ticks left. Caldwell then missed a layup, so Wilmington tried to bleed the clock as much as they could. Unfortunately, Jaiden Guy's layup was blocked with less than ten seconds left, and Caldwell stormed down the court to put up a tip-in and retake the lead with only two seconds left. The Wildcats' subsequent Hail Mary full-court pass was intercepted, closing the book on another heartbreaker in a season that's been full of them.
Wilmington only made four three-pointers in the game on 20 attempts, making for their second-worst percentage from distance this year. Caldwell was more efficient, shooting 35.3% on 6-17 beyond the arc. The Cougars also outdid the home team in the free-throw department, converting 18 of 25 (72.0%) compared to 13-19 (68.4%) for Wilmington, with the extra attempts generated by being in the bonus for the final 13 minutes of the second half.
Tre Hawkins and Jaiden Guy both put up 15 points for the Wildcats, while Zavion Bianchini had 14 off the bench, and Justin Perez turned in 13 points with two blocks. Hawkins also led the team in rebounds with eight, while Denim Perkins dished out a team-high seven assists and added four steals.
The Wildcats' next chance to get off the schneid will come on Wednesday, up in Philadelphia against Chestnut Hill. That game will start at approximately 8:00 P.M. following the women's contest.
