Boxscore
Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware sent its seniors out in style Saturday afternoon as the Blue Hens scored 21 straight points in the first half to take control and stormed past James Madison to post a 79-65 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball victory at the Bob Carpenter Center in the regular season finale.

The Hens (13-18, 6-12 CAA), who will be either the No. 9 or No. 10 seed for the upcoming CAA Tournament next weekend in Richmond, Va., posted their most decisive victory since a 73-55 win over Boston University on Dec. 22, 2007. The game was played in front of a season-high crowd of 3,736.

Marc Egerson (top right), who along with fellow seniors Jim Ledsome, Brian Young, and Pau Geli was honored in a pre-game ceremony, had another banner day in his final BCC appearance as he posted his league-high 14th double-double of the season with a team-high 20 points and 14 rebounds. The All-CAA guard also surpassed the 20-point milestone for the 12th time this season.

"Our seniors have been terrific leaders and it was important to send them off the right way today," said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. "It was a spirited effort and we were tremendous on defense. We got some transition baskets during our early run and that really helped us get the lead."

Delaware point guard Brian Johnson (bottom right) posted his eighth straight double figure scoring effort with 18 points as he drained all four of his three-point attempts while dishing out seven assists and committing just one turnover. Alphonso Dawson chipped in with 15 points and seven rebounds as he helped the Hens hold a commanding 36-24 advantage on the boards.

James Madison (18-13, 9-9 CAA), which lost for the third time in the last four games and clinched the No. 7 seed for the CAA Tournament, got a big effort off the bench from Juwann James, who hit on 10 of 15 shots from the field and finished with a game and season-high 23 points, including 16 in the opening half, in just 26 minutes of action. Julius Wells was the only Dukes starter in double figures with 12 points and team-high seven rebounds.

After James Madison opened the game with a three-pointer by Kyle Swanston 29 seconds into the game, the Blue Hens broke away by scoring 21 unanswered points over the next eight minutes to take control. The Dukes missed eight straight field goal attempts and turned the ball over twice before Wells hit a three-pointer at the 11:27 mark to end the run.

Egerson scored eight points in the run, including two three-pointers and a dunk, to send the Hens on their way to a 39-27 halftime lead.

The 21 straight points by the Hens marked the second time in the last three games that Delaware has scored 20 or more straight points against an opponent. Delaware scored the final 25 points of the game in an 81-68 comeback victory over Bucknell last Saturday.

The Dukes showed some life early in the second half as Pierre Curtis hit a quick three-pointer to open the half and James followed with a jumper to slice the lead down to seven points at 39-32. But Delaware's Ledsome stopped the JMU momentum with a dunk and Jawan Carter converted a layup a minute later to push the lead back up to double figures at 43-32.

James Madison never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way and the Hens pushed the lead to as much as 21 points twice in the second half, going up 75-54 on a three-pointer by Dawson with 4:55 left and taking a 77-56 lead with 1:19 remaining on a layup by Edwin Santiago.

All 11 players who dressed for the Blue Hens saw action and walk-on freshman Samer Madarani scored his first points of the season with a free throw with 22 seconds left.

Delaware committed just 11 turnovers and shot well in all three areas, converting 27 of 55 shots from the field (49.1 percent), connecting on 11 of 24 three-pointers, and converting 14 of 19 free throws.