Lakewood, N.J.- In front of a raucous home crowd, the Georgian Court University men did not disappoint as the Lions escaped with a nerve-wracking 81-75 defeat of visiting Wilmington University, securing GCU's first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) triumph of the campaign.

The Lions improve to 2-5 (1-3 CACC) overall this season while the Wildcats slip to 4-5 (0-2 CACC).

GCU scurried to a speedy 9-4 advantage 3:05 into the contest in what would be the largest surplus for either side in the first half. Wilmington clawed its way to its biggest lead of the stanza, a lead of 21-18 with 7:48 to go before intermission. Georgian Court would respond by outscoring its guest, 18-12, the rest of the way as the Lions carried a 36-33 lead into the locker room.

Wilmington commenced the second half with a 17-8 burst to take a 50-44 lead at the 12:51 mark. GCU responded with a 9-1 spurt of its own to regain the advantage at 10:37. A Keith Hughes free throw at 3:21 put the Lions ahead by a nine-point margin of 66-57. Nikola Vujovic's emphatic dunk with 1:23 to go essentially sealed the win for GCU, providing the home team a game-high, 11-point lead (73-62).

Vujovic matched a season-best (11/24 at Philadelphia) with his game-best 25 points. Hughes followed with 19 points of his own to go along with five assists and a team-leading nine rebounds. Juwuan Carter drained 17 points for the victors while Michael Pierre contributed 10 points off the bench. J.D. Rodriguez dished seven assists, topping all players.

Tyaire Ponzo-Meek (Jr.-Wilmington, Del.) headlined the Wildcats with his 24 points. Brian Adkins (Jr.-Aberdeen, Md.) added 14 points while Drew Johnson (Jr.-Lancaster, Pa.) deposited 11 of his own. Ta'Vaune Griffin (Sr.-Chester, Pa.) provided a balanced effort of 13 boards, nine points, four blocks, and three assists.

Georgian Court looks to make it two straight this Tuesday evening when the Lions welcome the University of the Sciences to the Wellness Center.