A thrilling game before a raucous crowd that included many alums as part of "Hoop it Up" saw Goldey-Beacom rally before it was handed a 97-92 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference loss by Wilmington at the Jones Center.
The loss sees GBC (14-13, 10-8 CACC) end its regular season third in the CACC South Division and on Tuesday will visit Dominican (NY) in the conference quarterfinals at 6:00 pm in Orangeburg, NY.
The Lightning used a 15-4 run in just over three minutes that nearly eradicated a 78-66 deficit, closing to 82-81 with 3:38 to play. Sophomore Nazim Derry (Atlantic City, NJ) continued his torrid season with 10 points in that span.
Danny Walsh's jumper with 3:11 remaining made it 84-81 before junior Juran Ligonde (Boston, MA) nailed a jumper to again make it a one-point game. Nalik Veasley's layup with 2:25 to play put the Wildcats ahead, 86-83.
Strong defense stances on both ends kept it a three-point game and Wilmington had the ball with less than a minute left. Walsh came through by hitting a mammoth jumper with 54 seconds remaining for an 88-83 game.
Derry's 3-pointer with 40 seconds to go reduced the margin to two before Randy Rickards free throws with 27 seconds left made it 90-86. Ligonde put back Derry's missed 3-pointer with 18 seconds to go for a 90-88 game before Rickards hit twice more from the stripe one seconds later for a four-point contest.
The drama continued when senior Tyler Jones (Lawrenceville, NJ) hit a layup with 11 seconds to go for a 92-90 game and Caleb Matthews drained one from the line with a seconds later for a three-point contest.
Wilmington fouled Jones so he would not get off a 3-pointer and the senior standout calmly hit them both with seven seconds left for a 93-92 contest. But an intentional foul, meaning two shots and possession, was called on the Lightning that put the home side in a perilous spot.
Veasley canned two free throws and Matthews added two more with 6.8 seconds left for the final.
Derry closed with 33 points on 10-of-16 shooting with seven 3-pointers to continue what already has been a beyond impressive campaign. The seven-time member this season of the CACC Weekly Honor Roll increased his school-record single-season 3-point total to 99 and remains 16th in team history, now with 862 points. He also is tied for third with 188 single-season field goals and fifth with 548 single-season points.
Jones netted a career-best 25 points and also added six assists, moving into 10th place in school history with 200 career. Ligonde added 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Ligonde's 196 single-season rebounds are 10th-best in team history and his 347 career have him just outside the top 10.
Matthews scored 26 points, Walsh netted 22, Rickards poured in 15 with Ethan Tarte adding 13 for the Wildcats (11-17, 8-10).
