Goldey-Beacom came up with clutch baskets and clutch offensive rebounds late in the contest, widening its lead in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division with a 78-68 triumph at Holy Family in Philadelphia, PA.
Goldey-Beacom came out on a mission looking to build on its division lead. A 20-4 start over the game's first 10 minutes certainly helped with the squad shooting 8-of-17 from the floor and limiting Holy Family to just 1-of-10.
Senior Nazim Derry (Atlantic City, NJ) continued to be the primary catalyst with seven points.
Holy Family battled its way back into the contest before the end of the half, but GBC still held a 34-26 halftime lead. Derry scored 13 points with three 3-pointers, sophomore Omari Banks (Middletown, DE) added eight points and senior Damani Thomas (Kingston, NY) scored seven.
The Tigers kept battling, but the Lightning kept coming up with an answer. Goldey-Beacom canned a trio of 3-pointers for a 9-0 run, including two from Derry, over 75 seconds for a 71-58 lead with 3:48 left.
Holy Family got things within 71-61 before Thomas nailed two big free throws for a 12-point lead with 3:28 to go.
Jason Shields did everything he could for the Tigers, draining a jumper and then a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions with the latter coming at the 2:30 mark for a 73-66 margin.
Two possessions later saw the Lightning tighten the screws and quiet the crowd. Junior Cardin Joubert (Naples, FL) missed a 3-pointer, but Banks hustled for a big rebound. Derry then missed a layup, but Thomas got another huge offensive board to retain possession. The latter then drilled two from the line with 59 seconds to go for a 75-66 margin that all but ended things.
Derry again stood out with 24 points, six 3-pointers, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. He moves into fifth place in team history with 1,206 career points and is averaging 18.8 points over his last five contests.
Sophomore Zayon Marsh (Maplewood, NJ) had 17 points and 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, Thomas recorded 17 and eight with Banks getting 10 and eight for the Lightning, winners in eight of their last 11 contests.
Shields poured in 14 points and Aamir Hurst added 11 for the Tigers (6-13, 2-7 CACC).
Goldey-Beacom (13-8, 8-1), off to its best league start since opening the 2009-10 campaign 8-1, now owns a 2 1/2 lead over idle Jefferson (5-3) for first place in the CACC South Division.
Goldey-Beacom on Saturday visits Dominican (NY) for a 3:00 pm game in Orangeburg, NY. The women's game between the same schools precedes it at 1:00 pm.
