Photo: Ryan Griffith
What a way to win! The University of Delaware men’s basketball team took a 79-78 win over the Elon University Phoenix on Saturday at the Bob Carpenter Center. Senior forward Jacob Cushing sunk a last-second three-pointer to give the Hens the win.
The leading scorer of the game for the Blue Hens was redshirt junior guard Nate Darling as he had 21 points.
Two other Blue Hen players scored in double digits which were junior guard Ryan Allen (18) and redshirt sophomore forward Justyn Mutts (17).
Junior guard Kevin Anderson led the team in rebounds with 10.
Delaware had the advantage in multiple categories in this game which included points in the paint (26-20), rebounds (30-29), assists (18-16) and blocks (5-1).
The Blue Hens also bested Elon in shooting percentage by shooting 56.0 % (28-50) and the Phoenix shot 44.8 % (26-58).
Related: Painter Records A Double-Double In 80-76 Win Vs James Madison
Blue Hens Down By Two At The Half
The leading scorer for the Hens in the first half was Nate Darling who had 11 points. Darling’s teammate Justyn Mutts was right behind him as he scored 10 in the first half.
The Hens shot 48.00 % (12-25) in the first half and they also shot 100.00 % (4-4) at the free-throw line.
Elon shot 40.74 % (11-27) in the first half and the team also shot 100.00 % (6-6) at the free-throw line.
The game started with the Blue Hens starting out quickly with a 8-2 lead which was led by Mutts who scored all eight points.
At the 14:50 minute mark, Elon went on a 16-4 run which gave the team a 18-12 lead with 9:58 left in the half.
The next two possessions Delaware would hit back to back three-pointers to tie the game up at 18 with 8:48 left in the half.
In the next couple of minutes, there would be three lead changes and two tied scores.
Elon would go on a 10-5 run at the 3:25 minute mark to take a 35-33 lead into the half.
Cushing Sinks Last-Second Three To Seal Hens Win
The leading scorer for the Blue Hens in the second half was Ryan Allen who had 15 points. Allen’s teammate, Nate Darling was right behind him with 10 points in the second half.
The Hens caught fire in the second half with their shooting as the team shot 64.00 % (16-25). Delaware also shot 60.00 % (6-10) at the free-throw line in the second half.
Elon shot 48.39 % (15-31) in the second half and they also shot 80.00 % (8-10) at the free-throw line.
At the 10:47 minute mark, Delaware would outscore Elon 11-7 to take a 65-63 lead with 6:35 left in the game.
At the 3:54 minute mark, Elon would go on a 5-0 run to take a 72-69 lead with 2:33 left in the game.
The next possession, the Hens would tie it up at 72 with a Kevin Anderson three-pointer with 1:13 left in the game.
The Phoenix was leading 78-76 with 17 seconds left and it looked like the win could be their’s but Jacob Cushing had other plans.
With five seconds left in the game, Delaware’s Jacob Cushing pulled up the game-winning three-pointer to send home his team with 79-78 win.
Cushing told the Hens site after the game, that he was glad to get the shot and the win.
“That shot meant a lot, it’s a huge win that we really needed. The ball felt good leaving my hands, and I’m just glad I could contribute to the win. When Ryan drove I was just trying to fill the top of the key and was ready to knock it down.”
Delaware heads to New York to take on Hofstra on January 23rd at 6:30 PM ET.
Stats:
FG%: UD56.0 %& EU44.8 %
3P%: UD46.4 %&EU48.0 %
FT%: UD71.4 %&EU87.5 %
Rebs: UD30&EU29
Ast: UD18&EU16
Stl: UD4&EU6
TO: UD 14&EU7
Blks: UD 5 &EU1
College Delaware Sports Blitz 
1 comment