In a game which the final score does not tell the story, Goldey-Beacom more than displayed a solid effort versus 17th-ranked Dominican (NY) in a 95-76 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference loss at the Jones Center in Wilmington, DE.
Goldey-Beacom this entire season has showed it has a strong roster with great shooters, rebounders and explosive play. This came to light in the first half, when the Lightning ended on an 11-4 run in moving to a 45-41 deficit. Junior Zack Oree (Newark, DE) scored seven points in that time.
Freshman Zayon Marsh (Maplewood, NJ), twice picked CACC Rookie of the Week and twice named to the league's Weekly Honor Roll, ended with 13 points in yet another display of his dazzling athleticism. Oree closed with nine points.
But the Chargers came out of the locker room looking like a different team. A 16-8 run to open the half lifted the visitors to a 61-49 lead over the first eight minutes. Justin Copman, Wahaad Johnson and Javel Cherry netted four points apiece with the latter ending it on a tip-in.
The Lightning were not going to buckle, scoring the next seven points in moving to 61-56 with 9:43 left. Junior Ayshion Centeno (Pleasantville, NJ) scored five points in that span, ending it with two free throws.
But Dominican ended any upset hopes with a 20-11 spurt in just under five minutes for an 81-67 game with 4:48 remaining. Jaden Honis scored nine points in that time and Cherry ended it with a 3-pointer.
Marsh's game is leaving the expert of wordsmiths struggling for verbiage. He scored 22 points to mark the sixth time this season he has reached at least 20 points and he is averaging 20.4 points over his last eight contests. Marsh also closed with eight rebounds over 37 minutes.
Marsh's 18.5 points per game keep him second in the league. This and his 88 field goals easily have him on pace to reach the school's single-season top 10 list in each.
Centeno scored 21 points with sophomore Tyshon Judge (Merchantville, NJ) adding 13 for GBC (4-9, 1-2 CACC).
Cherry poured in 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting, Copman netted 15, Johnson and Honis scored 11 apiece with Joshua Serrano getting 10 for the Chargers (13-1, 5-0), who shot 60 percent (34-of-57) from the floor.
Goldey-Beacom is back in action for a Wednesday matinee at Chestnut Hill. Game time is at 3:00 pm, which precedes the women's 1:00 pm game between the same schools.
