Goldey-Beacom poured in 14 straight points late in the contest and left no doubt in a 75-61 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over Holy Family at the Jones Center in Wilmington, DE.
Holy Family held a 53-48 lead with 10:44 left before GBC netted 10 straight points for a 58-53 margin with 8:40 remaining. Junior Juran Ligonde (Boston, MA) continued his dominant play in the post with six points as the Lightning made just one field goal in that time, but went 8-for-8 from the line.
The Tigers (6-11, 1-6 CACC) roared back with the next five points, getting a jumper from Rick'Keem Mixson and a 3-pointer from Nate Conyer for a 58-58 tie with 7:02 to play.
The Lightning (6-7, 3-2) were looking for that burst to end things and finally got it, putting home the next 14 points for a 72-58 margin with 2:51 left and their seventh victory in the squads' last nine meetings. Sophomore Nazim Derry (Atlantic City, NJ) scored five points in that time.
Over that 24-5 run spanning just under 7 1/2 minutes, Goldey-Beacom shot 6-of-8 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the line with Ligonde scoring eight points. Holy Family shot just 2-of-7 from the field and committed four turnovers.
Ligonde overall ended with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added nine rebounds, giving him an average of 19.6 points over the last three games and 9.8 rebounds over the last five contests. Derry poured in 15 points, senior Tyler Jones (Lawrenceville, NJ) netted 13 and sophomore Mattia Morini (Bologna, Italy) hauled in a career-best 10 rebounds.
The Lightning shot 56 percent (15-of-27) from the floor in the second half and 10-for-15 from the line for the third victory in their last four contests.
Eric Esposito had 16 points and 15 rebounds, Mixson netted 16 points off the bench with Daniel Fleming adding 10 for the Tigers, who shot 36 percent (21-of-59) from the field and committed 16 turnovers.
Goldey-Beacom this Thursday will make up its game against Nyack, beginning at 8:30 pm. The women's contest between the same schools precedes it at 6:30 pm. Please note the games will be played on the campus of New Jersey City University in Jersey City, NJ.
