Painter Leads Blue Hens Past Delaware State, 86-78, in Route 1 Rivalry at 76ers Fieldhouse

Monday, December 16

Wilmington, DE

7:00 PM

University of Delaware

10-2,0-0CAA

Delaware State

1-10,0-0MEAC

Delaware St.

Delaware

Photo by: Ryan Griffith

Painter Leads Blue Hens Past Delaware State, 86-78, in Route 1 Rivalry at 76ers Fieldhouse

12/16/2019 9:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

WILMINGTON, Del. – Junior forward Dylan Painter led the Blue Hens with 19 points during his UD debut as Delaware defeated Delaware State, 86-78, in the Route 1 Rivalry Monday night at 76ers Fieldhouse.

Painter, a mid-year transfer from Villanova, finished 8 of 11 from the field to lead Delaware to its 10th win of the season. Nate Darling added 18 points and a career-high seven assists, Ryan Allen contributed 14 points, and Justyn Mutts had 10 on the night. Collin Goss narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and a team-leading 10 rebounds for Delaware, which shot 53.7 percent during the win.

John Crosby scored a game-high 30 points for Delaware State, while Ameer Bennett added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Delaware led by just a pair at 14-12 nine minutes into the game but scored the next 10 points, going in front 24-12 on two Mutts free throws with 7:37 on the clock.

The Hornets closed within 29-24 at the 4:24 mark but Aleks Novakovich, Johnny McCoy and Darling each buried triples to put the Blue Hens up a game-high 14 points at 38-24. After Delaware State cut the margin back to seven, Goss closed the first half scoring with a layup to give Delaware a 43-34 lead at the break.

Delaware eased the margin to 62-50 on a Painter dunk with 12:15 to play, before the Hornets answered with five straight points to cut the deficit to seven. However Darling hit two free throws and Allen added one to push the advantage back to 10, and the Blue Hens led by at least eight the rest of the way.

Martin Ingelsby
"This was a hard, physical game with a quick turnaround after playing Villanova on Saturday. It wasn't pretty, but we found a way to get it done. I'm proud of our bench – Johnny McCoy was fabulous and obviously Dylan Painter had a nice debut. He gives us a presence inside and can finish around the rim. He's a mature kid who was excited to get out there, and he let the game come to him."

Dylan Painter
"I've been working with the guys for what seems like forever, so it was great to finally be able to get out there with them. I was anxious before the game but told myself if I defend, rebound and play hard, everything would be fine. My teammates made it easy, I didn't have to do much on my own. We're a really talented team and can score in a lot of different areas."