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NEWARK, Del. - - A strong opening half carried the Wilmington University men's basketball team to a 78-58 nonconference victory over Kutztown on Thursday night at the WU Athletics Complex, shooting 61.3 percent to jump out to a large lead.
The Wildcats (4-4) shot 19-of-31 form the floor in the first half, including hitting on 9-of-17 from three-point territory, leading by 18 points at the halftime break. The iron wasn't as kind for the Wildcats in the second half, but it was equally unpleasant for the Golden Bears (1-7) as neither team shot well in the final frame. The Wildcats shot 31-of-64 (48.4 percent) from the floor for the game, going 9-for-23 from deep.
Amiri Stewart hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the first half to give the Wildcats an 18-9 lead. Kaleb Hedgepeth gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead with a layup with 12:49 to play, putting the Wildcats ahead, 23-12. The Golden Bears got the deficit to as little as two points, 23-21, before the Wildcats got the lead back under control. Nalik Veasley put the Wildcats back ahead by 10 points, 36-26, with 6:15 5o play and then a 9-0 run, capped by an LJ Carter old fashioned three-point play, put the Wildcats up 45-28, with 3:01 showing on the clock. Brycen Williams hit a three-pointer to go up 18-points and then Nalik Veasley scored the final buck of the half, giving the Wildcats a 50-32 lead at the halftime break.
Kutztown started the second half with the first five points which sparked a 9-2 run to get the deficit down to as little as 11, 52-41. But the Wildcats settled into the second half, scoring the next five points and using another 8-0 run, capped by a dunk by Kaleb Hedgepeth to regain a 22-point lead, 65-43, with 9:57 showing on the clock. Hedgepeth gave the Wildcats their largest lead of the night with another layup, 73-48, with 4:54 left to play. Kutztown finished the game on a 10-5 run to settle on the final score, 78-58.
Taalib Holloman paced the offense with 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Nalik Veasley scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go with five rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Brycen Williams came off the bench to score 11 points while hitting three three-pointers. Caleb Matthews and Amiri Stewart each finished with nine points and five assists on the night.
The Wildcats assisted on 20 of the team's 31 made buckets on the night while turning 22 Kutztown turnovers into 19 points at the other end.
The Wildcats will look for their third straight win with another home game against a PSAC opponent on Saturday. They host Lock Haven at the WU Athletics Complex on Saturday with a 2:00 p.m. opening tip.