 |  |
Kerr's Fadeaway Gives Devils a Hard Earned Win to End Season
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington U. (Del.) | 36 | 28 | 64 |
| Univ. of the Sciences (5-19, 3-13 CACC) | 35 | 31 | 66 |
| Philadelphia, Pa. (Morgan Arena) | |||
| Wilmington U. (Del.) | Univ. of the Sciences |
|---|---|
| Pts: PAYTON, Corye - 22 | Pts: Garret Kerr - 21 |
| Reb: 2 Players (#02, #23 - 5) | Reb: Garret Kerr - 19 |
| Ast: 2 Players (#01, #22 - 3) | Ast: Patrick Connaghan - 5 |
| Team Statistics | Wilmington U. (Del.) | Univ. of the Sciences |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goal % | 35.8% (24-67 ) | 50.0% (26-52 ) |
| Rebounds | 25 | 52 |
| Assists | 11 | 13 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 18 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 18 | 3 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 5 | 13 |
| Pts in the Paint | 24 | 37 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 2 | 3 |
| Bench Pts | 28 | 2 |
Garret Kerr sank a fadeaway jumper with 3.4 seconds remaining to give the University of the Sciences men's basketball team a 66-64 win over Wilmington University Tuesday night at the Bobby Morgan Arena.
The win was the Devils third in their final four games as they finish the season with a 6-19 overall record and a 4-13 mark in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games. Wilmington, who also saw their season come to an end, finished 10-16 overall with a 6-11 league mark. The win was only the second in six meetings between USciences head coach David Pauley and his former assistant, Wilmington head coach Mike Gallagher.
Kerr finished the game with 21 points (8-10 FG, 5-10 FT) and tied his career high with 19 rebounds. Henry Messinger added 18 points while Myer Messinger, playing in his final collegiate game chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. Patrick Connaghan added 10 caroms and a game-high five assists.
Wilmington was led by Corye Payton who was also playing in his final collegaite game. Payton scored 22 points (10-19 FG, 1-8 3FG, 1-4 FT). James Pee added 11 points and a team high five rebounds while Edward Freeman had ten points and three assists.
Kerr's heroics capped off an exciting second half that saw five ties and 11 lead changes with neither team leading by more than four points. It was a four point deficit with 4:42 left that Devils overcame to pull out the win. With the score 62-58, Henry Messinger was fouled and made two free throws to pull the Devils within two 62-60 and after a defensive stop, Kerr was fouled and made one of two to close the gap to one. Both teams turned the ball over twice in succession before Henry was fouled again and converted one of two to tie the game at 62-all with 2:06 left. Pee put the Wildcats back on top 64-62 with a jumper at the 1:51 mark. Henry Messinger then struck again dribbling right towards the baseline and hitting a 12-footer to tie the game at 64-all with 1:30 left. Wilmington's Herbert Dennis missed a three-point attempt with Kerr grabbing the rebound and passing it out to Connaghan. WU's Isiah Mason then stole Connaghan's pass attempt and drove in for a potential go-ahead layup which rolled out and Sciences' Brian Boyle came up with the ball with 34.5 seconds left. After a timeout Boyle got the ball down low to Kerr who dribbled once, head faked then turned and nailed the fadeaway jumper from the left block over Freeman to put the Devils ahead 66-64 with 3.4 seconds left. Dennis' three-point attempt from about 28 feet out clanked off the right side of the rim and the Devils hung on for the win.
Kerr had 11 points and 13 rebounds in the second half as he closed out his freshman year in style. with his 20th consecutive double-double and 21st on the season (both tops in NCAA Division II). The 6'3" freshman forward finishes the season with 325 rebounds in 25 games, producing a 13.0 per game average, which is still tops in the nation in Division II. His 13.0 rebounds per game average is a new conference record, breaking the old mark of 12.1 set by William Eason in 2009-10 and his 325 boards is the second most in the CACC's NCAA history behind Eason's 328 in 09-10.
The Devils shot 50% for the game (26-52) while Wilmington shot 35.8% (24-67). The Wildcats held the advantage from beyond the arc (7-26 to 2-9) while both teams shot fairly equal at the free throw line with the Devils making three more free throws on the evening (12-9). The Devils doubled up the Wildcats on the glass 52-25 which translated into a 13-5 advantage in second chance points. That advantage more than offset the Devils 18 turnovers. Wilmington committed just four, leading to an 18-3 advantage in points off turnovers.
