University of Delaware Athletics
Seven Takeaways From Delaware's Opening CAA Win
12/29/2019 10:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
As time ran down in the first half against UNCW Saturday night, Delaware men's basketball junior guard Ryan Allen caught a kick-out pass from Justyn Mutts and knocked down a 3-pointer to help give the Blue Hens a 14-point advantage going into the halftime break.
The shot was a perfect microcosm of Delaware's opening Colonial Athletic Association contest because 1) it showcased how well the Hens' inside-out offense was operating, 2) pushed Allen over the 1,000-point line for his collegiate career and 3) the 14-point lead held until the final whistle as Delaware topped the Seahawks 82-68.
Here are seven takeaways from Delaware's first conference win of 2019-20:
1. Delaware's Inside-Out Game Worked To Perfection
Mere moments into the game, junior point guard Kevin Anderson threaded a bullet pass to senior big man Collin Goss in the low post. Goss pump faked to get a defender off his feet, then dished a pass for Allen to drain a corner three. Later, Goss kicked out for a Nate Darling three from the right wing. As UNCW doubled heavily in the first half, the passing ability of the Blue Hens bigs created lots of open looks.
"That's our game, we've got dominant bigs and we've got shooters on the perimeter," Allen said.
"I really challenged our guys before the game to share the basketball on the offensive end and get that ball moving around," head coach Martin Ingelsby said. "We had 13 assists on 16 field goals at halftime. That's beautiful for me and our coaching staff to see because we do have firepower. We have an unselfish group. When we're unselfish like that, we're really difficult to defend."
2. The Blue Hens Had Another Balanced Scoring Night
Despite being held scoreless for twelve and a half minutes, Darling hit four three-pointers in a five-minute span before halftime and led all scorers with 21 points at the final buzzer. He was one of five Hens in double figures, including 17 points from Mutts, 11 from Anderson, 10 from Allen and 10 from redshirt junior forward Dylan Painter.
"It seemed like everybody was getting involved," Darling said. "We were all playing confident."
Five different Blue Hens connected from beyond the arc, including Aleks Novakovich and Ebby Asamoah. Delaware shot 52.2% from downtown, the second-highest percentage this year behind Dec. 14's loss to Villanova.
3. Justyn Mutts Did Work Down Low
The redshirt sophomore forward had a game-high 13 second-half points, utilizing a variety of great post moves and short jumpers. Mutts was just one rebound shy of his seventh double-double of the season, but his nine boards and four offensive rebounds were both game highs and helped Delaware to a 28-23 advantage in overall rebounding.
4. Dylan Painter Threw It Down
Painter's first three field goal attempts of the night ended in big dunks. The big man made his first entry into the scorebook after Johnny McCoy stole a loose ball and delivered a bounce pass in the lane for Painter to throw down with one hand. He later combined with Darling for both a baseline slam and a thunderous two-handed effort after some clever passing.
5. Ryan Allen Reached The 1,000 Career Points Mark
Allen, who also had a career-high six assists against the Seahawks, became the 36th player in Delaware history to eclipse 1,000 career points with his three late in the first half.
"He's such an important piece for us, he's a confident guy on the offensive end. He's really grown as a basketball player, he's not just a spot-up three-point shooter, he's got some really good drives for us, he's gotten to the foul line," Ingelsby said. "I congratulated him at the timeout and I said I hope you got many more points in you because we're going to need them."
6. Delaware Was Near Perfect At The Charity Stripe
Delaware knocked down 14 of its 15 free throw attempts for a season-high 93.3%. The Blue Hens are shooting 74.5% from the line for the season, third-best in the CAA. Combined with a 52.8% night from the floor, Delaware was operating at near peak efficiency.
7. The Hens Are On Top Of The CAA
The CAA looks to be a wide-open league this year, but with an opening-night win combined with a program-high 10 non-conference wins, Delaware is on top of the CAA standings at 11-3 overall. The Blue Hens quickly turn around and host College of Charleston in a crucial game Monday night at 7 p.m. The Cougars won 76-65 at Drexel on Saturday night.
"To be able to sweep a home swing to start the [CAA] season would be a heck of a feather in our cap as we head into the rest of conference play," Ingelsby said.
The shot was a perfect microcosm of Delaware's opening Colonial Athletic Association contest because 1) it showcased how well the Hens' inside-out offense was operating, 2) pushed Allen over the 1,000-point line for his collegiate career and 3) the 14-point lead held until the final whistle as Delaware topped the Seahawks 82-68.
Here are seven takeaways from Delaware's first conference win of 2019-20:
1. Delaware's Inside-Out Game Worked To Perfection
Mere moments into the game, junior point guard Kevin Anderson threaded a bullet pass to senior big man Collin Goss in the low post. Goss pump faked to get a defender off his feet, then dished a pass for Allen to drain a corner three. Later, Goss kicked out for a Nate Darling three from the right wing. As UNCW doubled heavily in the first half, the passing ability of the Blue Hens bigs created lots of open looks.
"That's our game, we've got dominant bigs and we've got shooters on the perimeter," Allen said.
"I really challenged our guys before the game to share the basketball on the offensive end and get that ball moving around," head coach Martin Ingelsby said. "We had 13 assists on 16 field goals at halftime. That's beautiful for me and our coaching staff to see because we do have firepower. We have an unselfish group. When we're unselfish like that, we're really difficult to defend."
2. The Blue Hens Had Another Balanced Scoring Night
Despite being held scoreless for twelve and a half minutes, Darling hit four three-pointers in a five-minute span before halftime and led all scorers with 21 points at the final buzzer. He was one of five Hens in double figures, including 17 points from Mutts, 11 from Anderson, 10 from Allen and 10 from redshirt junior forward Dylan Painter.
Getting to 1-0 and protecting our home court#BlueHens pic.twitter.com/UDtziOjP4t
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) December 29, 2019
"It seemed like everybody was getting involved," Darling said. "We were all playing confident."
Five different Blue Hens connected from beyond the arc, including Aleks Novakovich and Ebby Asamoah. Delaware shot 52.2% from downtown, the second-highest percentage this year behind Dec. 14's loss to Villanova.
3. Justyn Mutts Did Work Down Low
The redshirt sophomore forward had a game-high 13 second-half points, utilizing a variety of great post moves and short jumpers. Mutts was just one rebound shy of his seventh double-double of the season, but his nine boards and four offensive rebounds were both game highs and helped Delaware to a 28-23 advantage in overall rebounding.
#BlueHens sophomore @JM_Squarepants scores inside again and now leads Delaware with 15 points tonight! pic.twitter.com/uEc8raXhM9
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) December 29, 2019
4. Dylan Painter Threw It Down
Painter's first three field goal attempts of the night ended in big dunks. The big man made his first entry into the scorebook after Johnny McCoy stole a loose ball and delivered a bounce pass in the lane for Painter to throw down with one hand. He later combined with Darling for both a baseline slam and a thunderous two-handed effort after some clever passing.
Steal by @jwmccoy13 leads to a slam by @dpaint4234 as the #BlueHens go back in front! pic.twitter.com/L43v4lWG0E
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) December 29, 2019
5. Ryan Allen Reached The 1,000 Career Points Mark
Allen, who also had a career-high six assists against the Seahawks, became the 36th player in Delaware history to eclipse 1,000 career points with his three late in the first half.
Inside 👉 out and @_BabyRy_ DRILLS it! #BlueHens up 43-29 over UNCW at the half. pic.twitter.com/ziCoq85F2n
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) December 29, 2019
"He's such an important piece for us, he's a confident guy on the offensive end. He's really grown as a basketball player, he's not just a spot-up three-point shooter, he's got some really good drives for us, he's gotten to the foul line," Ingelsby said. "I congratulated him at the timeout and I said I hope you got many more points in you because we're going to need them."
6. Delaware Was Near Perfect At The Charity Stripe
Delaware knocked down 14 of its 15 free throw attempts for a season-high 93.3%. The Blue Hens are shooting 74.5% from the line for the season, third-best in the CAA. Combined with a 52.8% night from the floor, Delaware was operating at near peak efficiency.
7. The Hens Are On Top Of The CAA
The CAA looks to be a wide-open league this year, but with an opening-night win combined with a program-high 10 non-conference wins, Delaware is on top of the CAA standings at 11-3 overall. The Blue Hens quickly turn around and host College of Charleston in a crucial game Monday night at 7 p.m. The Cougars won 76-65 at Drexel on Saturday night.
"To be able to sweep a home swing to start the [CAA] season would be a heck of a feather in our cap as we head into the rest of conference play," Ingelsby said.
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