Delaware Pulls Away in Second Half For 79-67 Win Over Charleston in CAA Quarterfinals

Sunday, March 8

Washington, DC

2:30 PM

University of Delaware

22-10,11-7CAA

Charleston

17-14,11-7CAA

Delaware

Col. of Charleston

Photo by: Mark Campbell

Delaware Pulls Away in Second Half For 79-67 Win Over Charleston in CAA Quarterfinals

3/8/2020 5:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Delaware used a hot-shooting second half performance to pull away from Charleston and post a 79-67 victory over the Cougars in the CAA Tournament Quarterfinals Sunday afternoon at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.

The Blue Hens, who snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Cougars, advance to face top-seeded Hofstra in the semifinals on Monday at 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Nate Darling led the Blue Hens with 25 points and hit 5 of 8 three-point attempts, while Dylan Painter finished with 12 points on the day. Justyn Mutts posted his 11th double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to go with a game-high five assists, while Ryan Allen also contributed 12 points on the day.

Grant Riller paced the Cougars with 26 points, while Brevin Galloway added 14 and Zep Jasper finished with 13.

Delaware shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 16 of 26 (61.5%) in the second half, while holding Charleston to 42.9 percent shooting on the afternoon.

The Blue Hens led 34-30 early in the second half before going on a seven-point run, extending the margin to 41-30 on a Painter free throw at the 16:09 mark.

The Cougars closed within 62-56 with six minutes to play, but Darling hit a huge triple to beat the shot clock and Painter connected on two free throws to increase the lead back to double digits. Riller answered with a bucket for the Cougars, before UD scored eight of the next 10 points to put the game away.

Charleston scored the first eight points of the game, but Delaware used a seven-point spurt to go in front 15-12 on a Darling fastbreak layup with 11:37 left in the half.

The Blue Hens were up a point at 28-27 late in the stanza before Allen hit two free throws and then buried a midrange jumper as Delaware took a five-point advantage into the break.

Martin Ingelsby
"I'm really happy and proud of our group. I thought we did a heck of a job on the defensive end. I challenged our guys to play a complete 40-minute game. We got offensive balance and guys made big shots. We just kept scoring the basketball in the second half. We were really connected, and when we're scoring like that it takes pressure off defensively."

Nate Darling
"We'd had a lead of them twice, and were not going to let it happen again. We just kept fighting and got big stops, and also made some shots to keep the lead. We stuck to the game plan and played a 40-minute game."