(LANGHORNE, Pa.) – For the second time in six days the Wilson's men's basketball team defeated Cairn in United East Skye Division action. Saturday's showdown was a little closer than Monday's matchup as the Highlanders came back from being down 13 in the second half to take a six-point lead before the Phoenix rallied and outscored the hosts 21-9 in the final 5:15 to push their win streak to five.
The Basics
Score: Wilson 80, Cairn 74
Venue: Mason Activity Center
Records: Wilson 14-10, 12-3 Skye; Cairn 13-11, 7-8
How It Happened
- The first half was quite close as it was it was a two-possession game for the entire frame. Wilson was able to stay just ahead of Cairn for the last five minutes of the half as a pair of Darryl Garib (Sr., Dallas, Texas / Forest Park) layups split a 26-all tie to put the Phoenix up four. Teams exchanged 3-pointers with Jordan Miles (Sr., Waldorf, Md. / Westlake) answering Jon Desir before Ethan Wilson (Jr., Manassas, Va. / Osbourn Park / Howard C.C.) made a steal and coasted in for a layup after a give-and-go with Ibraheem Bundu (Sr., Bowie, Md. / Largo) to give the Phoenix a 35-29 lead at halftime.
- The Phoenix were able to get off to a fast start in the second half as Garib was fouled on a layup and sank the and-one free throw before a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Miles gave Wilson a 43-30 lead. The Phoenix maintained that after a pair of Garib free throws before Cairn went on its comeback run with 15:34 to go in the game. Over the next seven minutes the Highlanders were able to erase the deficit and take the lead on a Jack Zawacki jumper with 8:05 to go. The hosts continued on the momentum wave and eventually went up 65-59 after a Derian Bradford jumper in the paint with just over six minutes on the clock.
- As strong as the Highlanders were during the previous nine minutes, Wilson was during the final five. Tyrik Ward-Hoyte (Jr., Baltimore, Md. / Phelps / Clinton) got the Phoenix back on the board with a pair of free throws and closed the game to 65-63 on a layup in the span of 35 seconds. After a Cairn bucket, the Phoenix were able to tie the game on a Bundu jumper followed by a steal by Khalif Dickson (Sr., Hampton, Va. /Prince George / Eastern) that resulted in a Ward-Hoyte inside jumper with 3:24 to go.
- After teams exchanged a pair of free throws, Darren Green (Jr., Silver Spring, Md. / Springbrook) put Wilson in front for good after he was fouled on a layup and sank the and-one attempt for a 72-69 lead with 97 seconds left. Cairn's opportunities to tie were off the mark and Wilson went a perfect 6-for-6 at the line in the final 18 seconds to secure the win.
Inside The Numbers
- Garib finished the game with 23 points for game-high honors. He was 7-for-13 from the field and 9-of-11 on free throws to help the Phoenix have a .510 shooting percentage from the field an .800 shooting percentage on free throws.
- Garib also led both teams with nine rebounds. Defensively he added a block and two steals.
- Ward-Hoyte finished with 12 points and was 3-for-5 from the field with a perfect mark of 6-for-6 on free throws.
- It's the third consecutive win and sixth out of the last seven games for the Phoenix against Cairn.
- The win guarantees Wilson a third consecutive winning season. It's the fifth in the program's nine-season history with all five coming in the past six seasons excluding 2020-21 in which no games were played because of COVID.
For The Highlanders
- Cairn was led by Derian Bradford who scored 22 points after he went 10-of-21 from the field. Aytor Alberto added 18 and Moses Ilodigwe added 17 to round out Cairn's double-figure scorers.
Up Next
Wilson will be back in action on Tuesday as it hosts Notre Dame for the first time in the series. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. with Senior Night presentations taking place before the game.
