WILMINGTON, DEL – Wilmington made 9 of its last 11 free throws down the stretch to pull out an 85-79 non-league victory over visiting West Chester at the Wilmington Athletic Conference Sunday afternoon.
West Chester (1-3) took a 77-75 lead with 2:35 left on a pair of free throws from
Josh Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist), but only managed a jumper from
Anthony Purnell, Jr. (Chester, Pa./Kiski Prep) the rest of the way. Wilmington (1-3) picked up it's first win of the season in its home opener as a result.
The Wildcats didn't make a shot from the field in the final 3:15, but their foul shooting was big down the stretch. Unfortunately, for the Golden Rams, they went 1-for-6 from the floor over that same span and could not expand its lead, and thus apply any pressure to the home team.
Neither team led by more than seven in a game that was tight throughout. West Chester outrebounded Wilmington by a large 51-31 margin, which limited the Wildcats to just 56 attempts from the field. However, the hosts took advantage of the opportunities they did create by shooting 50 percent from the field. West Chester made just 4 of 24 attempts from behind the 3-point arc in the loss.
A
Moro Osumanu (Reading, Pa./Reading) dunk gave the Golden Rams an early 14-7 lead – their largest of the first 20 minutes. However, Wilmington answered with a 10-0 run to take a one-point lead (17-16) with 10:43 left.
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) scored five of his seven first-half points during a stretch that saw West Chester open up a 21-19 advantage. The Wildcats would tie things up with a bucket. But,
Jordan Kellier (Kingston, Jamaica) hit a 3-pointer, and West Chester wouldn't trail the rest of the first half.
Wilmington got within one on a few occasions, but West Chester always had an answer.
Mekhi Reynolds (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) nailed a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left in the first half that put the visitors up 38-34 at the break.
West Chester put four players in double figures, led by Allen's 17 points and Walker's 16. Kellier finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and collecting 18 rebounds. Walker pulled down 14 boards, including seven on the offensive glass, for a double-double as well. Taalib Hollman had 21 points to pace Wilmington's offense.
West Chester will be back in action on Wednesday when it travels to Chestnut Hill for a 5:30 p.m. tip.
