Boxscore / File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The University of Delaware men’s basketball team trailed Bucknell by 12 points with seven minutes remaining but closed the game on an incredible 25-0 run as the Blue Hens posted an 81-68 non-conference victory over the Bison Saturday afternoon in an ESPNU BracketBusters game at Sojka Pavilion.

The Blue Hens, who snapped a seven-game road losing streak, improved to 12-17 on the season and reached the 80-point mark for the first time since January 3. Jawan Carter (at right), who hit two huge three-pointers during the spurt, led Delaware with a game-high 26 points while Marc Egerson posted his conference-leading 13th double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-best 13 rebounds.

Alphonso Dawson recorded his second career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Hens, while Brian Johnson reached double figures for the sixth straight game by pouring in 13 points to go with eight assists.

The Bison, who fell to 6-21 on the year, dropped their second consecutive game and seventh in the last eight contests. Bucknell, which had been 2-0 against Colonial Athletic Association teams this season with wins over Old Dominion and Drexel, got a team-high 23 points from Patrick Behan. G.W. Boon added 16 points for the Bison, while Bryan Cohen and Justin Castleberry each contributed 11.

Bucknell was ahead 68-56 with 7:02 remaining following a layup by Behan, but the Bison would not score again. Jumpers by Carter and D.J. Boney ignited the Blue Hen spurt, and Carter then hit consecutive three-pointers to make it a 68-66 game with 4:20 left. Carter then found Egerson with a fullcourt pass, as Egerson scored while getting fouled and hit the ensuing free throw to put the Blue Hens on top 69-68 with 3:01 to play. Johnson then drained a three-pointer to put Delaware up four, and two free throws by Carter made it a 74-68 game with 1:38 on the clock.

Two free throws by Egerson and Carter put the Blue Hens up 78-68 with 50 seconds remaining, and Johnson drained three foul shots in the final 41 seconds to close the scoring. Delaware went 6 for 9 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free throw line during the final seven minutes, while holding Bucknell to 0 for 11 shooting over that stretch.

“We were dead in the water with about seven minutes left, but I’m proud of our guys for sticking with in and pulling out the victory,” Delaware third-year head coach Monté Ross said. “We couldn’t stop their drives, so we switched defenses and that had an effect late in the game. We also did an excellent job of taking good shots during the run.”

Delaware jumped out to an early lead, as a layup by Dawson gave the Blue Hens a 16-8 advantage midway through the first half. However Bucknell answered with an 8-0 spurt to tie the game, and the contest remained even until a three-pointer by Cohen gave the Bison a 37-34 advantage late in the period. However Adam Pegg nailed a baseline jumper and Dawson connected on an 18-footer with four seconds on the clock to give Delaware a 38-37 halftime advantage.

An alley-oop dunk by Jim Ledsome put the Blue Hens up 42-39 with 18:52 remaining, but Castleberry drained consecutive three-pointers to spark a 10-0 Bucknell run that put the Bison on top 49-42 with 16:04 to play. The Bison lead stayed between seven and 11 points before Behan scored Bucknell’s final basket with 7:02 left that put Bucknell up 12 points.

Delaware plays its final road game of the season on Wednesday when the Blue Hens travel to Towson for a 7 p.m.tip with the Tigers.