No. 20 Villanova Holds Off Delaware, 78-70, in Never Forget Tribute Classic

Saturday, December 14

Newark, NJ

2:00 PM

University of Delaware

9-2,0-0CAA

Villanova

8-2,0-0Big East

Delaware

Villanova

Photo by: Mark Campbell

No. 20 Villanova Holds Off Delaware, 78-70, in Never Forget Tribute Classic

12/14/2019 5:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

NEWARK, N.J. – Delaware made multiple runs at No. 20 Villanova during the second half, but the Wildcats answered each time to come away with a hard fought 78-70 win over the Blue Hens Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center in the Never Forget Tribute Classic.

UD junior guard Nate Darling scored a game-high 29 points, knocking down six of 11 three-point attempts, and handed out five assists to pace the Blue Hens, while Kevin Anderson added 14 points on the afternoon. Ryan Allen contributed 10 points while Justyn Mutts chipped in eight points, a game-high 11 rebounds and four steals.

Villanova put five players in double figures, led by 18 points from Jermaine Samuels and 16 from Justin Moore.

Delaware shot 57.4 percent from the field and was able to finish multiple drives to the basket, but the Blue Hens converted just 7 of 16 free throw attempts. Villanova shot 47.4 percent, buried 10 of 31 three-point attempts and was 14 of 17 from the foul line.

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The Wildcats raced out to an early 22-10 lead, but Delaware railed to close within 37-32 at the break following a late three-pointer by Darling.

Allen converted a three-point play to bring the Blue Hens within a pair just over three minutes into the second half, and after Villanova extended the margin back to eight, Delaware countered with a seven-point spurt to make it a 47-46 game on a Darling triple at the 13:18 mark.

After the Wildcats again increased the lead to eight, Collin Goss and Darling hit layups to cut the deficit to 59-55 with nine minutes on the clock.

Delaware made a final push in the last minute when a Darling three-pointer made it 75-70 with 38 seconds to play, before Villanova hit three free throws to close the scoring.

Martin Ingelsby
"Nate is a fabulous player, he's fearless and gives us confidence on the offensive end. He's a dynamic scorer and we feed off his high energy. To score 29 points against a Villanova team that plays a physical defense is impressive; he's playing like one of the best guards in the country. We have confidence that we can play with anybody. We're disappointed with the result, but hopefully we have the opportunity to play on this type of stage again."

Nate Darling
"We're a super confident team and we expect to win every game. We kept saying to each other that we were right with them but credit to Villanova, they answered every time and we couldn't get over the hump. We played on the highest stage against one of the best teams and one of the best coaches in the country, and these games are really good to learn and grow from."