TOWSON, MD -- The University of Delaware men’s basketball team shot 69.6 percent from the field in the second half as the Blue Hens pulled away from Towson University to post a 76-61 Colonial Athletic Association victory Saturday afternoon at the Towson Center.

The Blue Hens, who snapped a 12-game road losing streak and won for the first time in 10 road contests this season, improved to 6-13 overall and 2-8 in conference play. Towson, which had posted a 96-92 win over Delaware in Newark on January 14, dropped to 9-11 overall and 5-6 in the league.

Delaware, which snapped a two-game losing streak and had lost seven of its last eight, carried a slim 30-29 lead into halftime but took control early in the second period. The Blue Hens outscored the Tigers 21-7 during the first seven and a half minutes of the stanza and took a 51-36 advantage on a three-pointer by junior Calvin Cannon with 12:35 remaining.

Delaware then held Towson at bay, as senior All-American candidate Harding Nana scored nine straight Delaware points to keep the lead in double digits. The Tigers got within 62-51 with 5:52 left but Nana hit one of two free throws, junior Raphael Madera converted a layup, and after a free throw by the Tigers’ Lawrence Hamm, freshman Zaire Taylor hit a jumper and Nana added a foul shot to put Delaware up 68-52 with 2:55 on the clock. The Blue Hens took their largest lead of the game with 40 seconds to go when senior Rulon Washington (right) drained two free throws to make it 76-59 before Hamm converted a dunk to conclude the scoring.

Nana, who scored a career-high 38 points in the teams’ first meeting two weeks ago, finished with game-highs of 23 points and eight rebounds for the Hens, while Washington tied his career-high with 20 points while dishing out four assists. Cannon and Madera each came off the bench to add nine points for Delaware, which hit 16 of 23 shots from the field in the second half and shot 50 percent (25 of 50) for the game. The Blue Hens also went 9 of 18 from three-point range, as Cannon and Washington each hit three shots from behind the arc.

Towson, which has now lost four of its last five games and had won two straight over Delaware in Towson, was led by Gary Neal with 19 points. Hamm added 15 and Tim Crossin chipped in 13 points and eight assists, but Dennard Abraham scored only one point and missed all seven of his field goal attempts after scoring 21 in the teams’ first meeting. The Tigers shot just 37 percent from the field (20 of 54) during the game, and was just 5 of 18 (27.8 percent) from behind the arc.

Delaware, which hadn’t won a road game since a 70-69 victory at James Madison on February 2, 2005, used an early 12-0 run to take a 14-2 lead just six minutes into the game. The Hens still led 27-17 with 4:26 remaining in the half when Washington drained a long three-pointer, but the Tigers closed the half on a 12-3 spurt, capped by a pair of Neal three-pointers, to get within one heading into the break.

“This is the first time in a while we have put it all together,” Delaware head coach David Henderson said. “We had excellent ball movement today, and many different players stepped up. Harding Nana got in foul trouble early but established himself early in the second half to give us some breathing room. I’m very proud of my team; they really finished the game today.”

Delaware returns home Thursday when the Blue Hens host CAA leader George Mason at the Bob Carpenter Center at 7:30 p.m.

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