Story by David Wahl III
(CINCINNATI, Ohio) - The Wilmington College men's basketball team opened the 2023 season in style with a 73-63 road victory against the Mount Saint Joseph Lions to open the Lauren Hill Tip-Off Classic. The Quakers start the season 1-0 while the Lions fall to 0-2.
The first half was a battle from the start as the Quakers jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead thanks to back-to-back jumpers by Ben Golan. The Lions were able to pull the score to 8-7 in favor of the Quakers a few minutes later after 7 straight points from Luke Collinsworth. Halfway through the first half, the Quakers jumped out to a 21-12 lead after a few made buckets by Elijah Cathey and Matthew Dugue, but the Lions made up for it in a big way. Over the next ten minutes of play, the Lions outscored the Quakers by 19 and took a 39-29 lead into halftime.
Down 10 points entering the second half, the Quakers put together a 13-4 run capped by a successful "and-one" by Cathey to cut the Lion lead to one. After a Miles Carson three-pointer gave the Quakers their first lead since the first half, both teams went back-and-forth until about three minutes left in the game. Up 2 with less than 3 minutes remaining, a Gavin Heimlich layup and a huge three-pointer from Cathey sealed the deal for the Quakers. The Quakers outscored the Lions 44-24 in the second half of play in part of shooting 50% from deep, and went on to win the game 73-63.
Notables
- This was the first win of the 2023 season for the Quakers.
- Matthew Dugue led the team with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block.
- Elijah Cathey came off the bench and went 2-3 from deep and added 13 points on six shots.
- The Quakers had 47 points from the bench.
What's Up Next
Wilmington will continue play in the Lauren Hill Tip-Off Classic at 5:00PM tomorrow against the Panthers of Hanover College.
