Wesley Stampedes Past Blazers
DOVER, Del. - Wesley College's Rashawn Johnson (Selbyville, Del./Sussex Tech) and Evan Martin (Wilmington, Del./Laurinburg Institute {N.C.}) combined for 53 points as the Wolverines defeated Hood College 102-88 in Capital Athletic Conference action.
The win kept Wesley (8-5) undefeated in CAC play at 5-0 and also extended the team's win streak to five.
Johnson and Martin combined to hit 20-of-33 field goals and 7-of-16 threes in the game. They were not the only Wolverines to come up with big games. One game after setting a career-high, Rudy Thomas (Millsboro, Del./Sussex Tech) nailed five threes on his way to another career-best with 17 points.
The Wolverines hounded Hood (5-10, 2-4 CAC) into a season-high 31 turnovers and held a 33-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Blazers started quickly, getting behind the Wolverine defense several times in the opening minutes on the way to a 16-5 lead after a fast break lay up by Tim Abercrombie with 15:01 to go in the half.
A jumper by James Stratton (Magnolia, Del./Caesar Rodney) 14 seconds later ignited a 13-2 Wesley surge that tied the game at 18-18 on an electrifying fast break dunk by Johnson, with an assist from Martin with 11:20 remaining.
With the score tied at 48-48, Martin found Thomas for an easy basket with six seconds left to send the Wolverines into the locker room ahead by two.
The second half was all Wesley as the Wolverine hit nine of their first 11 threes of the stanza as their lead grew to as many as 23 after a lay up by Martin with 6:57 to go.
Martin had seven assists to go along with his 24 points. Alphonzo Wright (Dover, Del./Polytech) stuffed the stat sheet for 12 points, 11 rebounds and four steals.
Hood, who lost for the eighth time in its last 10 games, was led by 21 points by Abercrombie. J'Air Brady added 19 points, while Jeff Willison had 18 and Tyler Snoots chipped in with 13.
It was the second straight game Wesley topped 100 points, as the Wolverines finished 14-of-34 (41 percent) from three point range.
Wesley will look to continue its streak with a road trip to York (Pa.) for a CAC contest on Monday, January 19.
