University of Delaware Athletics
Hens Start Slow but Finish Fast, Down Penn 83-60 (Dec. 21, 2012)
12/21/2013 3:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Delaware Starts Slow but Finishes Fast, Heads into Break with 83-60 Triumph Over Pennsylvania
December 21, 2012
Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell_lg.jpg)
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NEWARK, Del. -- It was all about the finish and not the start for the University of Delaware men's basketball team Friday night as the Blue Hens fell behind by 10 points in the opening minutes but rallied to take the lead at the half and stormed past Penn in the second stanza for an 83-60 triumph at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Delaware, which snapped a two-game losing streak, downed the Quakers for the second time this season as four Blue Hens scored in double figures on the way to the easy 23-point victory.
Sophomore guard Jarvis Threatt (bottom left) recorded a season-high 18 points, senior forward Jamelle Hagins (at right) picked up his eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and junior guard Devon Saddler and freshman guard Terrell Rogers each chipped with 10 points in the balanced Delaware effort. Redshirt freshman Marvin King-Davis came off the bench to add a career-high eight points.
Delaware (4-8) overcame a tough shooting night (39 percent) that included missing its first 13 three-point attempts, by committing just seven turnovers for the game and holding a commanding 51-35 advantage on the boards. The 51 rebounds were the most by Delaware since pulling down 54 against The Citadel in the Nov. 18. 2005 season opener.
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The Blue Hens, who now head into a 10-day break before continuing action Dec. 31 at home against Rider, handled Penn for the second time in five weeks after also defeating the Quakers 84-69 in the opening round of the NIT Tip-Off Tournament Nov. 12 at Charlottesville, Va. Delaware's top two scoring outputs this season have both come against Penn.
Penn (2-8), which lost it third straight game, got big efforts from forwards Fran Dougherty and Greg Louis, who combined for 37 points and 20 rebounds. Louis, a sophomore who entered the game averaging just 3.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per outing, recorded a couple of career-highs with team-bests of 19 points and 11 rebounds while Dougherty added 18 points and nine caroms. Louis' previous career-highs were just eight points and three rebounds.
The Quakers played without four of their top five scorers - Miles Cartwright (14.3 ppg), Tony Hicks (5.1 ppg), Steve Rennard (4.4 ppg), and Henry Brooks (4.0 ppg) - who all sat out for violations of team rules.
But it didn't seem to matter early on as the Quakers stormed out to a 12-2 lead just three minutes into the contest as they hit five straight shots while the Hens missed four of their first five attempts.
Penn still led 16-6 six minutes into the game, but the Blue Hens chipped away at the margin and eventually used a layup by Threatt with 3:15 left in the half to take their first lead at 25-24. Delaware then used a 7-2 run to take a 32-26 lead at the break. In all, the Hens scored 13 of the final 15 points of the half.
That momentum continued into the second half as the Hens took control early, knocking down their first seven shots from the field, including back-to-back three-pointers by Saddler, and using a 20-4 run to take a 52-31 lead just over four minutes into the stanza. Penn never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
“We were physically ready to play but not mentally ready to go,” said Delaware head coach Monté Ross of his team's slow start. “But the bench guys came in and gave us a boost. We got a lot of good looks in the first half and were able to throw the ball inside. This was our best ball movement game of the season and when we do that well, we are a pretty good team. It was very important for us to finish the first half well and start the second half well. That was the key tonight.”
