NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University men's basketball team closed out its 2023-24 home schedule with a 95-61 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over Georgian Court on Wednesday night at the WU Athletics Complex for Senior Night.
The Wildcats (15-12, 8-7 CACC) led wire-to-wire against the Lions (2-24, 0-15 CACC), leading by as many as 35 points. Wilmington hit a season's best 16 three-pointers in the win, tying for second all-time in the program's NCAA era. They went 16-for-35 from beyond the arc, shooting at a 45.7 percent clip. It was the third consecutive game in which the Wildcats scored more than 90 points.
The long-distance barrage started right away, as LJ Carter and Taalib Holloman hit the first two attempts from deep. A Caleb Matthews three-pointer started an 8-0 run as the Wildcats took a 19-8 lead. An Amiri Stewart three-pointer sparked another 8-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from Skip Burton and the Wildcat led, 27-10. The Wildcats' biggest run came late in the half, as LJ Carter hit a three-pointer to start a 10-0 run, taking a 48-20 lead with 3:01 to play.
The Wildcats shot 9-of-14 from three-point range in the first half, taking a 53-28 lead into the halftime break.
The second half lead never dipped below 22 points as a massive steal, dunk, a three-point conversion from Taalib Holloman gave the Wildcats a 29-point lead, 64-35. Brycen Williams hit a three pointer and the Caleb Matthews sank another one, giving the Wildcats their first 30-point lead, 73-43, with 11:39 to play. The lead grew to as large as 35 points after a Brycen Williams layup, 92-57, with 2:46 to play before settling on the 34-point margin at the final buzzer.
Taalib Holloman led all scorers with 25 points, shooting 6-of-15 from the floor, hitting three three-pointers, and going 10-of-11 from the foul line. He also added six rebounds. LJ Carter scored 19 points to go with four assists while Caleb Matthews hit four three-pointers and finished with 14 points. Amiri Stewart went 4-of-r6 from the floor for 12 points, adding seven assists, six rebounds, and 3 blocks. Skip Burton hit three three-pointers and scored 11 points off the bench.
The Wildcats have one final tune up before the postseason and its with crosstown rival Goldey-Beacom on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats will head to the Joseph West Jones Center for a 3:00 p.m. opening tip in the regular season finale.
