Boxscore
PIKE CREEK, Del. – Senior guard Kyle White exploded for 21 second half points to propel the Goldey-Beacom College men's basketball team to a 79-71 victory over intra-state rival Wilmington University in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference quarterfinals Mon. night at the Joseph West Jones Center.
With the win, No. 2 GBC (18-9, 12-6 CACC) set a school record for overall and conference wins in a season with 18 and 12, respectively. They also earned a return trip to the CACC semifinals which take place on Fri. afternoon at Caldwell College. GBC will meet the No. 1 seed of the North Division, Bloomfield College. Bloomfield ousted the Lightning in the semifinals with a heartbreaking 78-76 victory last season. No. 3 Wilmington's season came to an end with the loss as they finished 10-18 overall and 7-11 in conference play.
The Lightning trailed 38-30 at intermission but outscored the Wildcats 49-33 in the second half. GBC started a 17-2 surge with 7:16 remaining in the game. A pair of free-throws by White tied the game at 64-64 with 4:39 left and two baskets by junior point guard Azeez Ellegood put the game away with the Lightning ahead 72-64.
The two CACC South Division rivals combined for 44 fouls on the night, with Wilmington whistled for 24 of them. The Lightning cashed in with 25 free throws on 34 attempts (74-percent). White and McDuffie each shot 10-for-13 from the stripe. Meanwhile, the Wildcats made just 14-of-25 from the foul line.
Wilmington outscored GBC 42-26 in the paint, but the Lightning made up for it with perimeter shooting as they sank eight three-point field goals on the night.
After miserable starts to the last three games, GBC opened up a 10-3 lead almost five minutes into the action and forcing Wilmington to call a timeout. Later, a three-point field goal by Ellegood and then a 1-of-2 trip at the line by McDuffie almost a minute later would give GBC a 16-8 lead just under the 11-minute mark.
But with a 21-14 lead with 8:29 left to play in the opening half, GBC self-destructed. A 22-6 Wildcat run would give Wilmington a 36-27 lead with under two minutes left in the frame. The upset-minded Wildcats, who had won two straight heading into tonight, seemed to have all the momentum as they took a 38-30 lead into the intermission.
McDuffie fought to keep GBC's season alive, making three free-throws in the early going to keep the Lightning within five. Then after a Vernon Dupree jumper at the 17:17 mark, GBC went on a three-point shooting spree with Parkes draining two and White, one from long distance, and quickly the Wildcat lead was down to three, 49-46.
Following a Wilmington timeout, the teams traded baskets for the next couple of minutes, with GBC unable to pull within three. A conventional three-point play by WU's Brandon Savage padded the Wildcat lead to 58-50 at the 10:19 mark, but the Lightning did not let up.
Trailing 62-55, a three-pointer by White jumpstarted an incredible 17-2 Lightning run that lifted GBC to victory. After White had tied the game at 64-64 with two free-throws, the Wildcats covered him with two defenders the next Lightning possession, but the recently named All-CACC First Teamer recognized this and alertly made a dazzling no-look pass in the paint to an open Anthony Parham who dropped in an easy layup and sent the Jones Center crowd into a frenzy as GBC took its first lead since the opening half.
Ellegood would put the game away in the closing minutes with two consecutive outstanding plays. With his team up 68-64, he was trying to hand the ball off to White, but the Wildcats would not allow it. An often reluctant shooter, Ellegood had to force an awkward running jump shot which he somehow managed to make go right at the two-minute mark. Then, he stole the ball from Wilmington's Blake Rubenstein and went straight to the hoop for a layup to put his team up 72-64.
GBC made 7-of-8 free-throws down the stretch to seal the victory. The Lightning improved to 2-3 in the CACC playoffs with the win.
