University of Delaware Athletics
Photo by: Sarah Boekholder
Eight Takeaways From Two Huge Delaware Wins
2/9/2020 10:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Playing on a national stage in one of the most balanced conferences in the country, Delaware men's basketball reeled off two more big Colonial Athletic Association wins this weekend, beating Towson 84-78 Thursday night and earning a dramatic 80-78 win over James Madison Saturday afternoon. Here are eight takeaways from the two Blue Hens victories.
1. The Bob Was Electric This Weekend
Thursday night's game was the 3rd-biggest home crowd for Delaware in a CAA game, with 4,675 fans inside the building. The team fed off the energy from the crowd during both games, especially when the Bob got loud during big plays down the stretch.
"It's fabulous," head coach Martin Ingelsby said after the Towson win. "It was a big game for us, big game for our team. It's nice to be able to see this community and the alumni and the fans and the students."
"It was awesome, I was feeling it, I was screaming at the start of the game," junior guard Nate Darling said. "I hope we can continue to get good crowds like that because it's really an advantage."
The Blue Hens have two home games left this year, and both will need big home crowds to give Delaware a home-court advantage. You can get your tickets for the games against Northeastern on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. and against Hofstra on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. at this link.
2. Nate Darling Is On A Scoring Tear
Over his past four games, The Halifax Hen has scored 122 points (34, 27, 34, 27 in the respective games). While he's averaging 20.9 points per game this season, his scoring average has been an absurd 30.5 over that four-game stretch. He's one of just eight players in the country to have scored 34 or more points in three different games this season and is showing no signs of stopping.
3. The Hens Were Red-Hot From Three Against Towson
A big part of Darling's scoring streak has been hot three-point shooting. The Blue Hens were on fire from three-point range against Towson, especially in the first half. Darling and junior guard Ryan Allen each had four treys to lead Delaware to a 50% shooting clip from deep at the intermission. The Blue Hens started the game by draining six of their eight three-point attempts. Darling himself finished with seven made threes, one off his career high of eight.
"He was a guy that was dealing with a little bit of a virus last weekend, wasn't himself and struggled shooting the basketball," Ingelsby said of Allen's bounce-back performance. "But when he's scoring like that and confident, we've got some weapons out there."
4. Ingelsby Trusts His Guys
In a hard-fought game Thursday night, juniors Kevin Anderson and Dylan Painter each picked up their fourth foul around the 8-minute mark of the second half. While conventional wisdom is to sit players with four fouls and a large amount of time left, Ingelsby put both starters back into the game two minutes later. The move paid off, as neither player fouled out and each contributed to Delaware closing the game out down the stretch. Towson, on the other hand, had two players foul out of the game.
5. The Blue Hens Lit Up The Scoreboard Against One Of The Best Defenses In The CAA
Entering Thursday's game, Towson led the CAA in points allowed per game. But Delaware's high-powered offense scored enough points to knock the Tigers down to second in the conference by the end of the night. Four Blue Hens finished in double figures and Delaware went 27-for-32 (84.4%) from the free-throw line.
6. Justyn Mutts' Versatility Was Crucial Against JMU
Sophomore forward Justyn Mutts filled up the stat sheet Saturday, recording his eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds while also collecting three steals and two blocks.
Mutts was outstanding on the defensive end, rejecting a Matt Lewis lay-up attempt into the stands and moments later going straight up to deny Zach Jacobs at the rim in a sequence that got the Blue Hen faithful fired up. His active hands forced turnovers that allowed Delaware to get easy buckets in transition as well.
Late in the game, Mutts played the 5 as the Blue Hens went with a small lineup. The switch was effective, with Delaware guards able to get downhill, draw fouls, and retake the lead late in the game.
"He gives you so much versatility on that end [defensively] to be able to have confidence to go small in a situation like that because he can guard," Ingelsby said. "There's nobody that's as athletic and long as him in our league, and to be able to get us extra possessions."
7. Delaware Came Up With Huge Plays Down The Stretch Against The Dukes
The sequence that won the game for the Blue Hens Saturday started with about one minute left on the clock. As JMU point guard Deshon Parker drove along the right wing, Kevin Anderson slid over on help defense and swiped the ball away. As the Delaware offense operated on the other end of the court, senior forward Jacob Cushing drove through the middle of the JMU zone, spun and in mid-air threw the ball out to Anderson. Anderson waited for Matt Lewis to be flat-footed on the close-out and sped past him to the rack to lay it in and put Delaware ahead 77-76, its first lead since the 15:45 mark of the second half.
On the ensuing JMU possession, Ryan Allen played fantastic on-ball defense on Matt Lewis to force a missed 3-pointer, then drew a shooting foul and knocked down one of his free throws to extend the lead to 78-76.
The Dukes' Parker tied the game at 78-78 with 14 seconds on the clock, but Ingelsby trusted his guys and without calling a timeout Nate Darling dribbled just past the free throw line and banked in a pull-up jumper that gave the Hens an 80-78 lead with five seconds left.
Parker drove the length of the floor as time ran down, but Justyn Mutts was there to cleanly contest the last-second shot attempt that failed to fall.
8. The Hens Are Hot
The two games this weekend were very different. On Thursday, Delaware's superior shooting allowed them to lead nearly the entire game and exert their control. Saturday was a much grittier affair, with neither team shooting particularly well in the first half, and then with the Hens having to match a talented (more talented than their record indicates) JMU team blow for blow in a tightly-contested second half.
The important thing for Delaware is that the result of both games was the same: a Blue Hens win. Delaware's six-game win streak continues to be the longest active streak in the conference. At 8-4 in league play, the Blue Hens are in sole possession of third place and are just one game behind first-place Hofstra.
1. The Bob Was Electric This Weekend
Thursday night's game was the 3rd-biggest home crowd for Delaware in a CAA game, with 4,675 fans inside the building. The team fed off the energy from the crowd during both games, especially when the Bob got loud during big plays down the stretch.
"I hope we can continue to get crowds like that because it's really an advantage." #BlueHens back at it tomorrow!
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) February 7, 2020
🎟https://t.co/tgRKkSrzFr pic.twitter.com/LDgZutUcNz
"It's fabulous," head coach Martin Ingelsby said after the Towson win. "It was a big game for us, big game for our team. It's nice to be able to see this community and the alumni and the fans and the students."
"It was awesome, I was feeling it, I was screaming at the start of the game," junior guard Nate Darling said. "I hope we can continue to get good crowds like that because it's really an advantage."
The Blue Hens have two home games left this year, and both will need big home crowds to give Delaware a home-court advantage. You can get your tickets for the games against Northeastern on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. and against Hofstra on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 4 p.m. at this link.
2. Nate Darling Is On A Scoring Tear
Over his past four games, The Halifax Hen has scored 122 points (34, 27, 34, 27 in the respective games). While he's averaging 20.9 points per game this season, his scoring average has been an absurd 30.5 over that four-game stretch. He's one of just eight players in the country to have scored 34 or more points in three different games this season and is showing no signs of stopping.
3. The Hens Were Red-Hot From Three Against Towson
A big part of Darling's scoring streak has been hot three-point shooting. The Blue Hens were on fire from three-point range against Towson, especially in the first half. Darling and junior guard Ryan Allen each had four treys to lead Delaware to a 50% shooting clip from deep at the intermission. The Blue Hens started the game by draining six of their eight three-point attempts. Darling himself finished with seven made threes, one off his career high of eight.
Put on a show for the big crowd#BlueHens pic.twitter.com/9efXoukfTg
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) February 7, 2020
"He was a guy that was dealing with a little bit of a virus last weekend, wasn't himself and struggled shooting the basketball," Ingelsby said of Allen's bounce-back performance. "But when he's scoring like that and confident, we've got some weapons out there."
4. Ingelsby Trusts His Guys
In a hard-fought game Thursday night, juniors Kevin Anderson and Dylan Painter each picked up their fourth foul around the 8-minute mark of the second half. While conventional wisdom is to sit players with four fouls and a large amount of time left, Ingelsby put both starters back into the game two minutes later. The move paid off, as neither player fouled out and each contributed to Delaware closing the game out down the stretch. Towson, on the other hand, had two players foul out of the game.
5. The Blue Hens Lit Up The Scoreboard Against One Of The Best Defenses In The CAA
Entering Thursday's game, Towson led the CAA in points allowed per game. But Delaware's high-powered offense scored enough points to knock the Tigers down to second in the conference by the end of the night. Four Blue Hens finished in double figures and Delaware went 27-for-32 (84.4%) from the free-throw line.
6. Justyn Mutts' Versatility Was Crucial Against JMU
Sophomore forward Justyn Mutts filled up the stat sheet Saturday, recording his eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds while also collecting three steals and two blocks.
Mutts was outstanding on the defensive end, rejecting a Matt Lewis lay-up attempt into the stands and moments later going straight up to deny Zach Jacobs at the rim in a sequence that got the Blue Hen faithful fired up. His active hands forced turnovers that allowed Delaware to get easy buckets in transition as well.
Late in the game, Mutts played the 5 as the Blue Hens went with a small lineup. The switch was effective, with Delaware guards able to get downhill, draw fouls, and retake the lead late in the game.
. @natedarling14 finds @JM_Squarepants for the slam!#BlueHens down 59-55 to JMU with 8:10 left. pic.twitter.com/m0JjmOwAEe
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) February 8, 2020
"He gives you so much versatility on that end [defensively] to be able to have confidence to go small in a situation like that because he can guard," Ingelsby said. "There's nobody that's as athletic and long as him in our league, and to be able to get us extra possessions."
7. Delaware Came Up With Huge Plays Down The Stretch Against The Dukes
The sequence that won the game for the Blue Hens Saturday started with about one minute left on the clock. As JMU point guard Deshon Parker drove along the right wing, Kevin Anderson slid over on help defense and swiped the ball away. As the Delaware offense operated on the other end of the court, senior forward Jacob Cushing drove through the middle of the JMU zone, spun and in mid-air threw the ball out to Anderson. Anderson waited for Matt Lewis to be flat-footed on the close-out and sped past him to the rack to lay it in and put Delaware ahead 77-76, its first lead since the 15:45 mark of the second half.
On the ensuing JMU possession, Ryan Allen played fantastic on-ball defense on Matt Lewis to force a missed 3-pointer, then drew a shooting foul and knocked down one of his free throws to extend the lead to 78-76.
The Dukes' Parker tied the game at 78-78 with 14 seconds on the clock, but Ingelsby trusted his guys and without calling a timeout Nate Darling dribbled just past the free throw line and banked in a pull-up jumper that gave the Hens an 80-78 lead with five seconds left.
.@natedarling14 FOR THE WIN!
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) February 8, 2020
6️⃣in a row for the #BlueHens! pic.twitter.com/tE54j6abRd
Parker drove the length of the floor as time ran down, but Justyn Mutts was there to cleanly contest the last-second shot attempt that failed to fall.
8. The Hens Are Hot
The two games this weekend were very different. On Thursday, Delaware's superior shooting allowed them to lead nearly the entire game and exert their control. Saturday was a much grittier affair, with neither team shooting particularly well in the first half, and then with the Hens having to match a talented (more talented than their record indicates) JMU team blow for blow in a tightly-contested second half.
Heart-stopping #BlueHens extend the winning streak to 6️⃣ pic.twitter.com/gR4QGNm0ox
— Delaware Men's Basketball (@DelawareMBB) February 8, 2020
The important thing for Delaware is that the result of both games was the same: a Blue Hens win. Delaware's six-game win streak continues to be the longest active streak in the conference. At 8-4 in league play, the Blue Hens are in sole possession of third place and are just one game behind first-place Hofstra.
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