The University of Delaware men’s basketball team hung on to win a close 76-75 game against the Drexel University Dragons on Saturday at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The leading scorer of the game for the Blue Hens was Sophomore guard Ryan Allen with 26 points.
Two other Blue Hens scored in double digits in the game and they were freshman guard Ithiel Horton ( 19) and sophomore guard Kevin Anderson (16).
Redshirt senior forward Eric Carter was the top man on the boards in the game as the Blue Hen forward collected 13 rebounds.
Delaware had the advantage in multiple categories in the game which included Blocks (5-2), Assists (18-15), Rebounds (35-27) and Fast Break Points (12-8).
Blue Hens also had the advantage in shooting as well, with the team shooting 55.8 % (29-52) and Drexel shooting 45.3 % (29-64). The Hens also had the three pointers going down for them in the game as they shot 52.4 % (11-21) from downtown. The Dragons shot 34.8 % (8-23) from the three point line.
The Dragons did have a better shooting percentage at the foul line then the Blue Hens as the team shot 75.0 % (9-12). Delaware shot 63.6 % (7-11) from the free throw line.
Drexel also dominated in two categories in the game which they were Points In the Paint ( 42-24) and Points off Turnovers ( 23-9). The Dragons also won the turnover battle in the game by 9-21.
Allen Scores 13 To Lead Blue Hens to 10 Point First Half Lead
The leading scorer for the Blue Hens for the first half was Ryan Allen who scored 13 points. Allen’s teammate, Ithiel Horton was right behind him scoring 11 points in the half for the Hens.
In the first half, the Hens shot as a team 58.6 % (17-29) and also had a 64.3 % (9-13) shooting percentage at the three point line.
The Dragons shot 44.8 % ( 13-29) in the first half and had a 45.5 % (5-11) shooting percentage at the three point line. Drexel did have the advantage at the free throw line as the team shot 66.7 % (2-3) and Delaware shot 50.0 % (1-2).
Blue Hens out rebounded the Dragons 17-12 in the first half but lost the turnover battle by 6-4.
The first half started with the Blue Hens jumping out to a quick 10-3 lead which was led by Allen who scored four points in the run.
Then at the 9:19 minute mark, Delaware would go on a 10-0 run which increased their lead to 29-18 with 6:23 left in the first half. Allen led the charge on the 10-0 run by scoring six of the ten points.
Both teams would score 15 more points for the rest of the half which ended with Delaware leading 44-33.
First Half Stats
Blue Hens were shooting 58.6 % (17-29) in the first half and Drexel was shooting 44.8 % ( 13-29) .
Delaware was shooting 64.3 % (9-13) from downtown and the Dragons 45.5 % (5-11) .
Blue Hens leading scorer in the first half was Ryan Allen who scored 13 points.
Drexel’s leading scorers in the first half was Trevor John and James Butler who scored nine points.
Turnovers Hurt Delaware In Second Half But Hang on to Win
The leading scorer in the second half for the Hens was Ryan Allen who again had 13 points.
The Hens shot 52.2 % (12-23) in the second half and struggled from the three point line in the half shooting 28.6 %(2-7 ).
The Dragons shot 45.7 % (16-35) in the second half and had a 25.0 % (3-12) shooting percentage from the three point line in the half.
The story of the second half for the Hens was turnovers because the team had 15 and the Dragons only had five.
At the 15:18 minute mark in the second half, Delaware went on a 6-2 run to increase their lead to 53-41 with 13:58 left in the game.
The Dragons were not dead yet as the team started a 14-3 run at the 4:00 minute mark in the half which decreased Delaware’s lead to 74-72 with 12 seconds left in the game.
Delaware’s Kevin Anderson would hit two free throws with 11 seconds left in the game which would give his team the close 76-75 home win.
Blue Hens go on the road for their next opponent which is Elon on January 31st at 7:00pm ET.
Stats:
FG%: UD 55.8 % & DU45.3 %
3P%: UD 52.4 % & DU34.8 %
FT%: UD 63.6 %&DU75.0 %
Rebs: UD 35&DU 27
Ast: UD 18&DU15
Stl: UD 3&DU9
TO: UD 21 &DU9
Blks: UD5&DU2
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