Photo: Mark Campbell
The University of Delaware men’s basketball team will advance to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament semifinals as they defeated the College of Charleston Cougars 79-67 on Sunday at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
The leading scorer of the game for the Blue Hens was redshirt junior guard Nate Darling who had 25 points.
Sophomore forward Justyn Mutts recorded his 11th double-double on the season, as he had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Two other Blue Hen players scored in double digits which were junior guard Ryan Allen (12) and redshirt junior forward Dylan Painter (14).
Delaware had the advantage in multiple categories in this game which included points in the paint (36-24), points off turnovers (21-9), fast-break points (7-5), bench points (9-3), assists (11-10), turnovers (7-11), blocks (5-1) and steals (7-5).
The Blue Hens also bested the College of Charleston in shooting percentage by shooting 50.9 % (27-53) and the Cougars shot 42.9 % (24-56). Delaware also had the advantage at the three-point line by shooting 50.0 %(8-16) and the College of Charleston shot 45.5 % (10-22).
Delaware also used their time at the free-throw line wisely as the team shot 81.0 % (17-21). The Cougars shot 64.3 % (9-14) at the free-throw line in the game.
Related: Delaware Gets 20th Win Of The Season With A Dominating 70-48 Win Vs Northeastern
The Blue Hens Lead By Five At The Half
The leading scorer for Delaware in the first half was Nate Darling who had 15 points. Darling’s teammate, Ryan Allen was right behind him in scoring, as he had 11 points.
The first half was not the best for the Hens in terms of shooting, as the team shot 40.74 % (11-27). Delaware also shot 75.00 % (6-8) at the free-throw line in the first half.
College of Charleston shot 34.48 % (10-29) in the first half and the team also shot 100.00 % (2-2) at the free-throw line.
The game started out with the Cougars jumping out to a 8-3 lead which was able to happen with the team hitting back to back three-pointers to start the half.
Delaware would be quick to answer back with a 12-4 run of their own as it would give the team a 15-12 lead with 11:37 left in half. Nate Darling would be the leader of this run as he scored five of the 12 points.
In the next six minutes, the points would flow quickly out of the two teams but the Blue Hens would outscore College of Charleston 11-10 in that stretch to push their lead to 26-22 with 5:06 left in the first half.
Starting at the 4:08 minute mark, Delaware would outscore the Cougars 6-5 for the rest of the half to extend their lead to 32-27 at the half.
Hens Shooting Gets Hot Which Seals A Tourney Win
The leading scorer for Delaware in the second half was Dylan Painter with 12 points. Painter’s teammates, Nate Darling and Justyn Mutts were right behind him in scoring as they each scored 10 points in the second half.
Delaware saw the basket with ease in the second half as the team shot 61.54 % (16-26). The Hens also shot 84.62 % (11-13) at the free-throw line in the second half.
College of Charleston also improved their shooting in the second half as the team shot 51.85 % (14-27). The Cougars also shot 58.33 % (7-12) at the free-throw line in the second half.
In the first five minutes of the second half, the Blue Hens would outscore the Cougars 11-7 to hold on to a 43-37 lead with 15:07 left in the half.
Starting at the 14:13 minute mark, the Cougars clawed back as the team went on a 9-4 run which cut Delaware’s lead to four (47-43) with 12:18 left in the game.
The Blue Hens would respond back with a 13-6 run of their own which pushed their lead to 60-49 with 8:09 left in the second half. The Hens would hit three shots from the perimeter on this run as they would come from Nate Darling, junior guard Kevin Anderson and freshman guard Johnny McCoy.
Starting at the 7:08 minute mark, Delaware would outscore the Cougars 19-18 to seal their 79-67 win. The Blue Hens made seven free throw shots during this stretch.
The win means the Blue Hens will face Hofstra on March 9th at 6 PM ET at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
Stats:
FG%: UD50.9 % & COC 42.9 %
3P%: UD 50.0 %&COC 45.5 %
FT%: UD81.0 %&COC64.3 %
Rebs: UD 30& COC 31
Ast: UD 11&COC 10
Stl: UD 7& COC 5
TO: UD 7& COC 11
Blks: UD 5 &COC 1
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