Men's Basketball Downed in CSAC Semifinals

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. - The Wilson College men's basketball traveled to take on the Cyclones of Centenary University in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Semifinals. The Phoenix (10-16, 7-7 CSAC) were taken down by the Cyclones (18-8, 12-2 CSAC) by a final score of 76-67

How It Happened: After Centenary was able to score the first bucket, Wilson jumped ahead as sophomore Adrian Thomas (Germantown, MD., Northwest HS) nailed a foul shot and junior Christian Evans (Baltimore, MD., Our Lady Of Mount Carmel) knocked down a three. Both teams battled back and forth throughout the first half as neither team could secure a solid lead. Later on, with the score tied at 10, sophomore Xavier Dowtin (Oxon Hill, MD., Oxon Hill HS) drained a three that put the Phoenix ahead by three. The Cyclones, however, rallied back and pulled ahead, 20-13, thanks to a 7-0 run. Shortly after, Wilson jumped on a 9-2 run that flipped the score in their favor, 26-22. Senior Rashaan Bean (San Antonio, TX., Forest Park) started the run with a layup; followed by Evans, who hit another three. Moments later, Thomas drained two foul shots, that continued the run, before Bean and Evans both added layups and a jumper from freshman Jordan Miles (Waldorf, MD., Westlake). Centenary closed out the first on a 13-2 run as the Phoenix entered halftime trailing, 35-28.

In the second,  junior Zachary Powell (Manassas, VA., Osbourn) got the scoring started with a deep three. Wilson continued to grind and chip away at the lead until they brought the score to 45-39, off a jumper from Evans. Moments later, sophomore Anthony Desruisseau (Burtonsville, MD., Springbrook HS) connected on a jumper and a three that cut the Cyclone lead to just three points. On the next Phoenix possession, Dowtin cut the lead to one point as he nailed a jumper, bringing the score to 47-46 with ten minutes left in the game. After Centenary pulled ahead, Powell cut the lead to four points off an and-one layup and foul shot that followed. The Cyclones went on to extend their lead to nine points with just over three minutes left in the half. Wilson, however, would not be denied and would cut the lead to three points off an 11-5 run. Thomas and Powell started the run with two quick back-to-back layups, followed by Bean who drained two free throws.  Thomas added another layup while Bean knocked down a three that cut the lead to three points, 70-67, with twenty-four seconds left on the clock. Despite a tremendous effort, the Phoenix could not complete the comeback as they would go on the be defeated by a final score of 76-67. 

Inside the Box Score:  Wilson finished the game shooting 31% from the floor while Centenary finished shooting 41%. Thomas led the attack as he grabbed his second double-double of the year, finishing with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Evans, Bean, and Powell rounded out scores in double figures as they finished with 15, 14, and 10 points, respectively. Desruisseau and Dowtin both added five while Miles added two. 

After amassing ten wins and going .500 in conference play, this concludes the 2019-2020 men's basketball season. 

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