Balanced Effort Lifts Blue Hens Past UNCW, 82-65, in Regular Season Finale

Saturday, February 29

Wilmington, NC

7:00 PM

University of Delaware

21-10,11-7CAA

UNCW

10-21,5-13CAA

Delaware

UNCW

Photo by: Mark Campbell

Balanced Effort Lifts Blue Hens Past UNCW, 82-65, in Regular Season Finale

2/29/2020 9:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Martin Ingelsby Press Conference Photo Gallery

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Six Blue Hens reached double figures in a balanced effort as Delaware closed its regular season with an 82-65 win over UNCW Saturday night at Trask Coliseum.

Kevin Anderson scored 14 points and handed out eight assists while Justyn Mutts, Ryan Allen and Nate Darling each added 13 points on the night. Jacob Cushing scored all of his season-high 11 points in the first half, while Dylan Painter contributed 10 points during the win.

Delaware put six players in double digits for the first time since an 88-78 win over Florida on Dec. 1, 1996.

The Blue Hens have won 11 CAA games for the fourth time since joining the league, and have won 21 regular season games for the fifth time in program history.

After a tightly contested first half Painter scored three of UD's first four baskets of the second period, while an Allen triple extended the Blue Hens' lead to 53-46 with 15:34 to play. The Seahawks answered with five straight points, but Allen drained another three before an acrobatic layup by Anderson made it a 58-51 game at the 11:39 mark.

The Blue Hens were up 60-56 before they went on a seven-point spurt, extending the margin to 67-56 on a Mutts jumphook with 8:23 on the clock. UNCW got back within eight at 71-63 with 4:39 left, but Delaware scored nine straight points over the next three and a half minutes to put the game away.

Delaware shot 58.8 percent from the field on the night, including 15 of 22 in the second half to pull away. Meanwhile the Seahawks shot just 33.3 percent during the final 20 minutes.

UNCW took a 34-29 lead with five and a half minutes remaining in the opening stanza and was still up three late in the half, but Darling hit a jumper before Anderson and Mutts connected on an alley-oop dunk at the buzzer as Delaware went into the break up 41-40.

Martin Ingelsby
"I'm really happy with our group, this was an important win after a tough one on Thursday. I thought we did a great job guarding them in the second half, and I'm proud of us to come down here in a tough environment and get it done. We stayed poised throughout the whole game, and took what the defense gave us. We have weapons, and different guys stepped up at different times. We are a difficult group to defend when we're unselfish and share the ball."