Freshmen Lift Blue Hens to 71-62 Triumph at UMES

Friday, November 30

Princess Anne, MD

7:00 PM

University of Delaware

6-2

UMES

1-7

Delaware

Maryland Eastern Shore

11/30/2018 9:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. – Blue Hen freshman Ithiel Horton scored a game-high 17 points while fellow rookie Matt Veretto added a season-high 16 as the Delaware men's basketball team defeated UMES, 71-62, Friday night at the Hytche Athletic Center.

Eric Carter notched his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Hens (6-2), while Kevin Anderson contributed 11 points and six assists.

AJ Cheeseman paced UMES (1-7) with 16 points, while Bryan Urrutia added 15 points and six assists.

Delaware led by two at the break but quickly scored the first eight points of the second half to take a 37-27 advantage with 16:23 remaining. The margin grew to 11 a minute later following a Horton three-pointer, but the Hawks eventually pulled within 47-44 at the 9:15 mark.

However Veretto answered with a three-pointer and then a jumper in the paint, and after a UMES bucket, Veretto and Horton converted layups to make it a 10-point game again. The Blue Hens' lead would not fall below seven the rest of the way.

Delaware jumped out to a 15-8 lead on a Jacob Cushing layup with 12:11 left in the opening half, but UMES answered by scoring the next 12 points to take a 20-15 advantage with seven minutes on the clock.

The Hawks still led by three at 27-24 late in the half, but Collin Goss converted a three-point play and Darian Bryant hit a layup following a steal at midcourt to give the Blue Hens a 29-27 halftime lead.

Head Coach Martin Ingelsby
"We got off to a good start tonight, but UMES came back and we had some game pressure in the second half. We made some plays to keep the margin at 8 to 10 points, and I thought we wore them down inside down the stretch. The two freshmen were really big for us; it was a very good effort and we have a quick turnaround on Sunday."

Matt Veretto
"There isn't much difference for me between coming off the bench or starting, I'm just focused on winning every game. I couldn't be in a better program; our team is like a family and we're just hoping to keep it rolling."

Game Notes:
• Delaware won for the fifth time in six games
• The Blue Hens are off to their best start since the 1999-2000 squad opened 9-1
• Delaware won a school-record six games in November
• Carter has reached double figures in all eight games
• Horton scored in double digits for the sixth game in a row
• Carter moved into 21st place in UD history with 578 rebounds
• The game was the first meeting between the schools