PHILADELPHIA – The Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (13-10, 9-4 CACC) rolled to an 81-59 victory over visiting Wilmington (13-10, 6-7 CACC) in conference action on Wednesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rams fell behind 5-0 early in the first half but took over with an 18-7 run for an 18-12 advantage with 9:20 on the clock.
Hakim Byrd and
Ahmed Barba-Bey each scored five points during the stretch. The Wildcats came back with seven of the next nine points to get within one (20-19). It was still a one-point game (23-22) before Jefferson pulled away with a 14-1 surge that put the Rams up 14 (37-23) with 3:05 to go.
Erik Timko led the way with nine points. Jefferson took a 41-30 lead into halftime.
The margin was 11 (46-35) early in the second half before the Rams put together eight straight points for a 19-point advantage (54-35) with 16:42 remaining. Wilmington was only able to get the deficit to 12 the rest of the way and never threatened a comeback. Timko drove the lane and made a layup at the 4:38 mark to reach 1,000 career points.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Erik Timko: 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting (5-10 3PT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Hakim Byrd: 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting (5-9 3PT), 7 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
Bismark Nsiah: 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Darius Kinnel: 9 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Antonin Kemkeng: 9 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 30-of-65 (46.2%)
3PT: 15-of-36 (41.7%)
FT: 6-of-8 (75.0%)
NOTES
-
Erik Timko became the 60
th player in program history to record 1,000 career points.
-
Hakim Byrd's 19 points is a season high.
- Herb Magee was inducted into the CACC Hall of Fame in a ceremony prior to the contest.
CACC PLAYOFF PICTURE
The Rams sit in first place in the CACC South Division and hold a two-game lead with four conference games remaining. Jefferson lowered its magic number to clinch a playoff spot to one.
UP NEXT
The Rams head to Caldwell on Saturday, February 11
th for a 3 p.m. game.
