Strong Defensive Effort Gives Delaware 71-62 Road Win at Elon

Thursday, February 17

Elon, NC

7:00 PM

University of Delaware

18-9,9-5CAA

Elon

8-20,5-10CAA

Delaware

Elon

Strong Defensive Effort Gives Delaware 71-62 Road Win at Elon

2/17/2022 9:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

ELON, N.C. – Jameer Nelson Jr. scored 17 points while Delaware used a strong defensive effort to post a 71-62 victory over Elon Thursday night at the Schar Center.

Nelson Jr., coming off a 30-point effort vs. James Madison on Monday, hit a pair of clutch stepback three-pointers in the second half to help hold off the Phoenix. Ryan Allen added 13 points on the night, Kevin Anderson contributed 12, and Jyare Davis recorded his second straight double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Darius Burford paced Elon with 21 points, and while Hunter McIntosh added 16 points, he finished just 6 of 22 from the field.

Delaware shot just 42.2 percent from the field but limited Elon to 34.2 percent shooting, including a 4 of 22 performance from behind the arc.

Both teams got off to slow starts offensively, before two Andrew Carr buckets and a Gianmarco Arletti three-pointer gave the Blue Hens a 16-10 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. Ebby Asamoah drilled a triple in transition to extend the margin to nine, and after Allen hit two free throws to again make it a nine-point game, Elon's Zac Erwin drained a jumper to cut UD's lead to 25-18 at the half.

Delaware increased its lead to double digits early in the second half, as a Nelson Jr. three-point play and Carr basket made it a 34-23 game with 16:37 remaining.

Allen drilled a triple to give the Blue Hens a 10-point lead a minute later, but Elon answered with eight consecutive points to close within 37-35 with 13 minutes left.

Delaware never relinquished the lead though, and a three-pointer by Nelson Jr. increased the margin back to eight at 53-45 at the 6:45 mark. It was still a six-point game three minutes later, but Carr hit a free throw before Nelson Jr. knocked down another stepback triple and then added two free throws to put UD up 63-51 with 1:29 to play.

Martin Ingelsby
"A major key was to limit them at the three-point line, and we did that tonight. It wasn't the prettiest of games, but we made the plays we needed to. Jameer hit some big shots, and Ryan gave us a spark in the second half. We made McIntosh works for his points, and our defensive communication was very good tonight. This is a really good road win for us."

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