Lakewood, N.J.- Seeking the first victory vs. a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) opponent in program history, and hoping to snap a season-high, six-game slide, the Georgian Court University men's basketball team could not maintain a halftime advantage, eventually falling to visiting Wilmington University, 69-54, Wednesday evening in the GCU Wellness Center.

With the defeat, the Lions drop to 2-9 on the year and remain winless in conference competition (0-4). Wilmington ups its record to 5-8 (2-3 CACC).

Both squads played a back-and-forth style for a majority of the first half as neither the Lions nor the Wildcats maintained a lead of more than four points at any time during the first 12:23 of the stanza. A three-pointer from Alex Ramirez with 6:41 remaining provided GCU with a 22-16 advantage. A 7-4 spurt, concluded by a Robert Ashamole free throw at 1:58, put the Lions ahead by nine points (29-20), the club's highwater mark of the half.

After entering intermission with 29-22 surplus, the Lions would proceed to maintain the lead until Herbert Dennis (Sr.-Ridgely, Md.) put the Wildcats up, 50-49, with 6:35 to go. Wilmington then piled on ten consecutive points, a run that concluded with two Dennis free throws with 3:19 on the clock, to put the visitors up by a 60-49 mark.

The Wildcats added a mini 9-5 spurt to safely put the game out of reach from the Lions, marking a GCU defeat that felt like a kick to the midriff of the home team.

Dennis paced the Wildcats' offense with a team-high 19 points while Valentino Thompson (Jr.-Tinton Falls, N.J.) netted 15 points and distributed a game-best seven assists. Drew Johnson (Fr.-Lancaster, Pa.) popped in 12 points and led all players with nine boards.

GCU's Jordan Wejnert displayed his second straight effort with 20 or more points (and fifth of the season) as the Pt. Pleasant, N.J. resident dropped in 21. Jalen Robinson contributed 10 points of his own while fellow freshman Keith Hughes grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and three steals.

The Lions look to snap their skid Saturday afternoon with a 3:00 p.m. CACC showdown vs. the University of the Sciences.