PIKE CREEK, Del. – There is always a buzz when Goldey-Beacom College and Wilmington University collide on the hardwood, but when these, the only two Division II schools in the state of Delaware meet on Monday night at the Joseph West Jones Center, pride will not be the only thing at stake.
The No. 2-seeded Lightning (17-9, 11-6 CACC) will battle the No. 3 Wildcats (10-17, 7-10 CACC) in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference quarterfinal showdown at 7 p.m., with the winner earning a berth in the semifinals at Caldwell College. For those who cannot make the game, there will be a free live webcast via PennAtlantic. Chris DiGiacomo will call the play-by-play.
GBC and Wilmington, CACC South Division rivals separated by only about 10 miles, rather fittingly were separated by just five points as they split games this season. The Lightning won the first meeting in front of a packed house at the Jones Center on Jan. 19 by a score of 71-65, but then suffered a heartbreaking, 68-67 defeat at the Pratt Center on Feb. 9 in the rematch.
That loss is arguably what sent GBC into a tailspin to end the season. Following that game, the Lightning needed overtime to take care of Nyack and 95 points to beat Felician, and then went on to drop their last three games and back into the playoffs at the No. 2 spot.
Meanwhile, Wilmington comes into this game having won two back-to-back, pivotal CACC games in as many days. The Wildcats captured the No. 3 spot from Chestnut Hill College on the very last day of the regular season by first nipping the Griffins, 56-55 in the head-to-head matchup on Sat. and then coming back from a 19-point deficit for a thrilling, 66-64 home win against Bloomfield in their season finale on Sunday.
GBC has had a distinct advantage in the all-time series dating back to 2002-03. The Lightning hold a 13-3 series lead and are 12-2 against the Wildcats under head coach Chuck Hammond. They are also 6-2 against WU at the Jones Center.
This year marks the fourth straight appearance in the conference playoffs for GBC under Coach Hammond. In three appearances thus far, the Lightning are just 1-3 in the CACC Tournament. Last year, Hammond coached the team to its first conference playoff victory at home in the quarterfinals against Holy Family. The Lightning would then fall to eventual runner-up, Bloomfield College, 78-76 in the semifinals. This matchup marks the first time GBC and Wilmington will meet in the conference playoffs.
Wilmington is led by sophomore forward Brandon Savage, who ranks 15th in the league in scoring (14.0 ppg) and 10th in rebounding (8.0 rpg). Savage averaged 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per-game in the two meetings against GBC this season.
The difference for Wilmington in those two games was the shooting of senior guard Blake Rubenstein (3rd in the league in three-point field goals made) and the play of senior point guard Vernon Dupree (10th in the league in assists). The first meeting, Rubenstein was held scoreless on 0-for-9 shooting from the field, and Dupree managed just four points and one assist. In Wilmington's victory over GBC, Rubenstein scored 16 points and Dupree tallied 15 while handing out six assists.
GBC features the league's third-leading scorer in Kyle White (21.6 ppg), who in the season finale on Sat. became the fastest player in school history to go over 1,000 points in his career. Perhaps showing signs of fatigue (for he averages 37.0 minutes per game), White struggled in the last three games heading into the season finale against Dominican on Saturday, shooting just 14-of-35 from the field and scoring well under his average in each game. But after a somewhat quiet first half against Domincan, White made a layup early in the second half to reach the 1,000-pt. mark and then exploded for 17 more points in the closing frame to give him 27 points for the day.
White and his teammates will benefit from at least one day's rest after a week of three grueling CACC games as opposed to Wilmington who will play its third game in as many days. In the Lightning's 70-65 loss to Dominican on Saturday, Hammond rested junior forward Terrence Parkes for the majority of the afternoon – utilizing senior forward Anthony Parham who has come on strong late in the year for the Lightning. Parkes, who has dealt with ankle problems for a good portion of the season, is ninth in the league in both scoring (15.3 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg). He has played a big part in the Lightning's success this season as well.
The Lightning will also look for junior guard/forward Sam McDuffie to provide a spark. McDuffie has played exceptionally well the last five games of the season, averaging 18.2 points and 8.2 boards per game. He has also had success against Wilmington this year, posting averages of 18.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in the two contests against the Wildcats.
GBC will look to break the school record for wins in a season with 18 if it can win in this game. The Lightning's current mark of 17 wins is tied with the 1999-2000 team that went 17-17 overall.
