Short-Handed Blue Hens Succumb To Iona?s Three-Point Barrage, 92-77

Friday, November 20

New Rochelle, N.Y.

7:00 PM

University of Delaware

1-1

Iona

1-2

Team	1	2	F
Delaware	35	42	77
Iona	47	45	92

Short-Handed Blue Hens Succumb To Iona?s Three-Point Barrage, 92-77

11/20/2015 9:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Delaware Athletics

• Boxscore
• Boxscore (pdf)

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- Iona knocked down 16 three-pointers and shot over 50 percent for the game as the Gaels defeated the University of Delaware, 92-77, in non-conference men's basketball action Friday night at the Hynes Center.

Iona (1-2), playing its home opener after road losses at Valparaiso and Oregon State, put all five starters in double figures and had four players knock down at least three triples as the Gaels led for the final 33 minutes. A.J. English, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, led the way with 25 points and 10 assists, while Schadrac Casimir contributed 16 points and three Gaels added 12 points apiece.

Iona, the MAAC favorite which is currently ranked No. 13 in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, won its 20th consecutive home game. The Gaels shot 50.8 percent from the floor, including 16 of 34 from behind the arc.

Delaware, which dropped to 1-1 after last Friday's season-opening win at Delaware State, also put all five starters and shot an even 50.0 percent from the field. Senior Marvin King-Davis led UD in scoring for the second straight game with 16 points, while Devonne Pinkard and Chivarsky Corbett added 15 each. Skye Johnson reached double figures for the first time in his career with 10 points, while Kory Holden contributed 10 points and eight assists.

The Blue Hens played without junior guard Cazmon Hayes, who missed the game with a foot injury, and junior center Maurice Jeffers, who was sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Delaware opened the game with a 10-3 run and led for the first seven minutes, but three consecutive triples by English put the Gaels in front for good at 25-18. The Blue Hens answered with six straight points, but Iona countered with six of its own and pushed the lead to 14 before a Pinkard jumper made it a 47-35 game at the half.

The Blue Hens again started the second half strong, using an early 9-2 spurt to close within 49-44 on a Corbett triple, but Iona answered by scoring eight of the next nine points to push the margin back to 12. The Gaels then hit four consecutive three-pointers, the final one by Isaiah Williams, to extend the margin to 71-51 with 11:53 left.

Delaware quickly countered with an eight-point run of its own, forcing an Iona timeout with 9:48 to play following a Pinkard three-pointer. However Ibn Muhammad drained a three-pointer for the Gaels and the Blue Hens would not get within single digits the rest of the way.

“We knew they were struggling from three coming into the game and they'd be ready to go, and enough though we got a hand in their face and made them miss a couple, 16 of 34 is pretty good,” said Blue Hen head coach Monté Ross. “I thought our guys really competed tonight. We can really score the basketball, and got to 77 points without shooting well from three-point range. Defensively we weren't as sharp as we needed to be, but a lot of that was due to their offensive execution. Skye (Johnson) stepped in admirably today, and Devonne (Pinkard) and Chivarsky (Corbett) were efficient as well.”

Delaware will play its 2015-16 home opener on Tuesday when the Blue Hens host Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Game Notes:
• Delaware fell to 0-5 all-time vs. Iona, including 0-3 in New Rochelle
• UD allowed its highest point total since giving up 94 at Elon on Jan. 24, 2015
• Delaware went 22-26 from the foul line and held a 32-27 rebounding edge
• Pinkard's 15 points are a career-high
• Anthony Mosley scored seven points off the bench, tying his career-high
• Johnson had scored 23 career points before adding 10 tonight

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)