WILMINGTON, Del. – Six Tigers scored in double figures, but the HFU men's basketball team could not overcome Goldey-Beacom in a 97-89 loss to the Lightning on Saturday afternoon. 
 
Individual Highlights

• Eric Esposito (Langhorne, Pa./Conwell Egan) led the Tigers with a season-best 18 points, and he also led Holy Family with three steals and a game-high two blocks
• Tazir Cantey (Lindenwold, N.J./Eastern Regional) (7-of-10 shooting) and Rick'Keem Mixson (Linden, N.J./St. Mary of the Assumption (Raritan Valley CC)) also tallied new season-bests with 15 and 14 points, respectively, while Aamir Hurst (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann Goretti) fell two points shy of a season-best with 13
• Malik Archer (Philadelphia, Pa./Mathematics,Civics & Science Charter School (Beaver County CC)) and David Robinson Jr. (Philadelphia, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy) added 12 and 10 points, respectively, while both leading HFU with eight rebounds
  • The eight boards were a new season-best for Archer, as were his team-high four assists

 
Inside the Box Score

• The Holy Family bench outscored the Lightning's 35-8
• Both teams made 34 field goals and six 3-pointers, with the difference in the final score being GBC's 23 free throws compared to the Tigers' 15, as the Lightning recorded 12 more attempts (33-21) 

 
How it Happened 
First Half

• Esposito and Robinson Jr. combined to score the game's first nine points just 2:06 into the action, but Goldey came right back with nine straight of its own
• After three ties and three lead changes, the Lightning took the lead for good, 17-18, on a layup with 12:14 left in the first
• Holy Family cut the deficit to one twice in the first half, including when Mixon's jumper made the score 25-26 at the 6:10 mark
• Goldey-Beacom later used an 8-2 stretch to establish the first double-digit advantage, 30-40, 3:06 ahead of the break
• HFU closed the half strong, with Esposito scoring the Tigers' final five points, including a tip-in for a 43-48 score-line entering the locker room

Second Half

• Archer opened the second with a jumper to make it a one-possession contest
• Holy Family got as close as one on yet another Mixson jumper, this one making the score 53-54 with 15:43 to go
• Two Mixson free throw throws also brought the Tigers within one, 61-62, 2:07 later, only to have GBC respond with nine unanswered for a second double-digit advantage, 61-71, with 11:51 remaining
• The lead reached as large as 11, 72-83, with 8:20 to play
• A Cantey and-one sparked a 9-3 surge that saw HFU get as close three, 83-86, when Esposito followed a Vernon Johnson (Teaneck, N.J./Teaneck) 3-pointer with a layup with 3:29 showing
• That was as close as the Tigers could get though, as the Lightning scored the next five points to establish a two-possession advantage for good

Up Next
Holy Family begins a three-game non-conference road-trip at West Chester on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.