University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
6-5
Marist
4-8
Delaware Remains Perfect at Home, Edges Marist 59-56
12/20/2016 9:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEWARK, Del -- The University of Delaware men's basketball squad gutted out another home victory Tuesday night as senior Devonne Pinkard hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 42 seconds left and freshman Ryan Daly and senior Cazmon Hayes combined to knock down four clutch free throws in the closing seconds as the Blue Hens remained unbeaten at the Bob Carpenter Center with a 59-56 victory over Marist.
Delaware (6-5), which snapped a two-game losing streak, is now 4-0 at home this season for the first time since the 2011-12 season. The Hens got a balanced effort as junior Anthony Mosley (below) scored 13 
points and pulled a season-high eight rebounds, Pinkard finished with 11 points, and Hayes and Daly each chipped in with 10 point with Daly pulling eight rebounds. Daly reached double figures for the third straight game.
The Hens posted a hard-fought win over the Red Foxes for the second straight season after recording a comeback 70-69 victory last December in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Marist lost for the first time in three trips to The Bob.
“I'm really proud of our guys because we practice late-game situations every day, and we had to execute down the stretch to win that game,” said Delaware head coach Martin Ingelsby. “What a moment for Devonne (Pinkard). We all know he's been struggling with his three-point shot. We ran a stagger screen for him and he really stepped up and hit a big shot. I'm excited for our group, I think this is something to build on as we look forward to the CAA (Colonial Athletic Association) season, because once you get into league play, it's all one or two-possession games. It was not a pretty basketball game tonight, but to be able to hold them to 56 points is something I'm really proud of.”
Marist (4-8), which suffered its fourth straight loss, got a big effort from guard Brian Parker who scored 14 points, pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, and dished out four assists.
Ryan Funk added 14 points, including four three-pointers, and Khallid Hart, returning to his hometown, contributed 10 points. Parker recorded his second double-double of the season while Funk registered his sixth straight game in double figures scoring.
The Blue Hens used an early 7-0 run in the first half on the way to a 31-23 lead at the break and 
stayed in front for the first 12 minutes of the second half before Marist got back into the game with a 7-0 run of its own to tie the score at 48-48 with 8:18 left.
The Red Foxes finally grabbed the lead on a Funk three-pointer with 5:03 left and regained it again on a David Knudsen layup at 53-52 with 1:58 left.
That set the stage for Pinkard, who took an inbounds pass from Mosley in the left corner and put up a three-point shot just before the shot clock expired that hit the bottom of the net to give UD a 55-53 lead with 42 seconds left.
"The play was drawn up for me to come off a screen and I knew there were only four seconds on the shot clock, so I just tried to get a shot up,” said Pinkard, who had hit just 9 of 42 shots (.214) from long range entering the game. “I was pumped up after that last shot since it gave us the lead."
Marist's Hart and Pinkard then traded free throws and Daly (above) added one from the charity stripe with five seconds left for a 57-54 Blue Hen lead. Hart followed with two free throws for Marist to cut the lead to 57-56 with two seconds left but Hayes was fouled on the inbounds play and calmly sank both free throws to preserve the victory.
HEN SCRATCHINGS
• Delaware's Mosley and Marist's Hart were high school teammate at the Sanford School in Hockessin, Del.
• Delaware was playing at home for the first in 18 days since a 64-49 win over in-state foe Delaware State on Dec. 2
• The Blue Hens will play their third game in six days this Thursday when they travel to Tampa, Fla. to take on South Florida
• The teams were almost identical statistically. Marist hit 20 of 56 shots from the field (.357), 11 of 19 from the foul line (.579), committed 11 turnovers, and pulled 40 rebounds. Delaware hit 21 of 56 shots from the field (.375), 13 of 23 from the foul line (.565), committed 11 turnovers, and pulled 44 rebounds
• Delaware will look to go 5-0 at home for the first time since the 1999-2000 team started out 9-0 when the Blue Hens host Iona Dec. 28
MEDIA INFORMATION: Contact Scott Selheimer | selheime@udel.edu | Office: 302-831-8007 | Cell: 302-562-5129
