University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
4-2
USF
2-6
Delaware Defeats South Florida 67-58 Behind Big Night from King-Davis
12/3/2015 9:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
• Boxscore
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware men's basketball overcame a tough shooting night with a dominating effort on the boards, tough defense, and timely free throw shooting to post a 67-58 non-league win over South Florida Thursday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Delaware senior forward Marvin King-Davis enjoyed a career night as he pulled down a 
career-high 18 rebounds and was one of three scorers in double figures with 16 points to lead the way.
The double-double was his fourth in six games this season and the 18 rebounds were the most by a UD player since Jamelle Hagins had 18 against Drexel on Feb. 21, 2013.
Blue Hen sophomore Kory Holden (at left) finished with a season-high 23 points thanks 11 of 14 free throw shooting while sophomore center Maurice Jeffers (bottom right) added a season-high 13 points and seven rebounds. Cazmon Hayes hit just 3 of 13 shots from the field but scored eight points and pulled eight boards.
Delaware (4-2), which won its second straight game, improved to 3-0 at home for the first time since the 2011-12 season. The Hens shot only 30.9 percent from the field (17 of 55) but outrebounded USF by a wide 48-34 margin and hit 29 of 37 free throws, including 21 of 29 in the second stanza.
“I thought tonight was a tremendous gut-check performance by our guys, they showed incredible toughness," said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. "The way they rebounded against a big and athletic team was very impressive, and I'm so proud of the way they fight. This was probably the best we've seen of Marvin during his career, with his total effort tonight against their big team."
South Florida (2-6) featured a much bigger lineup and managed to block 11 shots for the game but 
the Bulls didn't have much luck with anything else. They shot just 37.1 percent from the field (23 of 62), hit 5 of 23 three-pointers, and had the big disadvantage on the boards.
Roddy Peters led the Bulls with 14 points while Angel Nunez pulled a team-high nine rebounds and scored seven points.
Delaware broke away from a one-point lead with eight minutes left in the first half and scored the final 11 points of the stanza, including a 30-footer by Holden right before the buzzer, to take a 33-19 lead into halftime.
South Florida hit just 7 of 31 shots from the field and 1 of 8 from beyond the three-point line during the stanza.
The Hens maintained the double-figure lead for the first six minutes of the second half before South Florida mounted a comeback and pulled to within four points at 41-37 on a three-pointer by Nehemias Morillo with 10:15 left.
But the Hens got back on their feet and pushed the lead to double figures just four minutes later and took their biggest lead at 57-40 on a Holden jumper with 4:49 left. The Bulls rallied in the final minutes but never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
HEN SCRATCHINGS:
• The game marked the first-ever meeting between the two schools in men's basketball. The teams will play next season in Tampa.
• Delaware closed out its non-league home schedule and will now embark on a six-game road swing beginning Sunday at Columbia before returning home vs. Colonial Athletic Association foe James Madison on Jan. 2.
• South Florida had won two of its last three games with the lone loss a 84-63 setback at No. 1 ranked Kentucky
• Delaware has held consecutive opponents under 60 points for the first time since a 62-57 win over Hofstra and a 58-57 loss to JMU in the 2013 CAA Tournament
• The 29 free throws made by Delaware were the most since sinking 30 (of 39) vs. Michigan State in the 2014 NCAA Tournament
• Hayes played all 40 minutes for Delaware while Anthony Mosley and Holden each played 39+ and the Hens used just seven players
