NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia - The Wilmington College men's basketball team built a 10-point, halftime lead and never trailed in the second half of a 65-61 victory over Averett University (Virginia) in a game at Christopher Newport University on Thursday afternoon.
Averett, which made the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament a season ago, took a 6-2 lead early on a dunk from Jason Sellars II, but Wilmington clamped down defensively. The Cougars, who scored six points in less than four minutes, averaged just a point a minute over the next 10. During that stretch, the Quakers scored 18 points and opened up an eight-point advantage when an Obed Achirem layup at the 9:18 mark made the score 18-10.
A Raja Milton long-distance bomb a couple of minutes later got the Cougars back within four (20-16), but Collin Barker answered with a triple, one of three in the first half for the Wilmington High School alumnus. Wilmington, which would lead by as many as a dozen (30-18), took a 34-24 margin into halftime.
Abdul Kanu opened the second half with an old-fashioned, three-point play for a 37-24 lead for the Quakers. Though that would be Wilmington's largest lead of the game, Averett never managed to climb out of the deficit. The Cougars had two chances to cut a four-point deficit (43-39) midway through the half, but failed to do so. With less than three minutes to play, Sellars II made 1-of-2 at the free throw line to pull his team within three (57-54). Neither team scored on their next two possessions, however, and a Gavin Heimlich layup forced Averett to foul for the final minute. Wilmington hit its free throws to snap a five-game losing streak.
Averett made one more field goal (22-21) than Wilmington and held a 43-34 edge in rebounding, but the Quakers connected on twice the amount of three-pointers (6-3) and held a 17-14 edge in free throws made.
Individually, Kanu led Wilmington with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting with five rebounds while Bryce Bird and Barker both had 11 points off the bench. Heimlich chipped in seven points and grabbed seven rebounds. A trio of Cougars - Sellars II, Jordan Lewis and Jem Lowrance - scored in double figures in defeat.
The Quakers (4-6) will face host CNU tomorrow (Friday) at 5 p.m.
