DOVER, Del. – The 6th-ranked Wesley College men's basketball team bounced back with a thrilling 66-63 victory over Christopher Newport in Capital Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon. The Wolverines improve to 18-2 overall and 10-2 in the CAC while the Captains now stand at 14-7 on the year and 6-6 in league play.
Sophomore Anthony Bowers, who scored just nine points on the day, tallied the team's final seven points and hit a pivotal three-pointer from way downtown with the shot clock expiring to give Wesley a 64-60 lead with 1:12 left in regulation.
Christopher Newport's Mike Cherry, who tallied a game-high 24 points, responded with one of his five triples on the day, cutting the deficit to a single point with 38 ticks left. Bowers was then fouled with 17 seconds remaining in the game, hit both free throws and the Captains attempt for a tie came up short.
Trailing by as many as 11 points with 11:17 left in the first half, Wesley fought back tooth-and-nail to get back into the game and faced just a 37-35 deficit at the break. The Wolverines got their first lead of the game with just over ten minutes left in regulation as Quincy Pettiford's three-pointer capped off a 7-0 run, giving Wesley a 52-49 lead.
Following a Cherry free throw, Pettiford hit another trifecta to give the Wolverines its largest lead of the day. Christopher Newport did not go down quietly, however, going on an 8-2 run to retake the advantage but after Pettiford and Cherry traded layups, Bowers started his consecutive points streak with a bucket with 2:40 remaining and the Captains could not bounce back.
Pettiford, a junior from Portsmouth, Va., who attended Concord (Del.) High School, led the Navy & White with 19 points, equaling a season-high. He also tied David Langan (9 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks) with a team-high eight rebounds. Eric Selby also was in double figures with 13 points, all of which came in the first half, and five assists.
Swingmen Wayne Lennon and Brandin Youngblood also recorded seven points apiece for the Wolverines, who outshot Christopher Newport by a narrow 45.6% to 44.0% margin. Wesley also had a slight advantage on the boards, 34-29.
Wesley returns to the court on February 12 when they travel to take on Salisbury at 7:30 pm.