Boxscore

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Blue Hen sophomore guard Alphonso Dawson (at right) scored 21 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as the University of Delaware men's basketball team picked up its first win of the season with an 85-81 victory over Saint Bonaventure Friday night in the Garden State Challenge at Rutgers University’s Louis Brown Athletic Center.

The Blue Hens, who have now scored at least 75 points in the first three games of the season for the first time since 1999-2000, improved to 1-2 on the year by taking the first ever meeting between the two schools. The Bonnies fell to 2-1 on the year after opening the season with victories over Robert Morris and Marist.

Brian Johnson added 19 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the field and dished out a game-high eight assists for Delaware, while Jawan Carter scored 16 points including five in the final minute. Marc Egerson scored nine points and pulled down eight rebounds, narrowly missing his third double-double on the season, while Jim Ledsome tied his career-best with a game-high nine boards.

Saint Bonaventure guard Jonathan Hall scored a career-high 24 points for the Bonnies, while Chris Matthews added 18 and Andrew Nicholson chipped in 14.

The Bonnies led 38-35 at the half and increased their margin to five with the first basket of the second half, but Delaware fought back to take the lead on a three-pointer by Carter, and a three-point play by Dawson made it 48-46 with 15:45 left.

Delaware extended its lead to 59-52 on a tip-in by Dawson with 12:47 remaining, and the the Blue Hens were still up 62-57 with 10:38 to play. UD then went on an 8-2 spurt, taking their largest lead of the game at 70-59 with 8:06 to play following a three-point play by Carter.

The Bonnies would make a run, scoring nine of the next 10 points to pull within 71-68 on a fastbreak layup by Hall with 4:57 left. Delaware countered with a driving layup by Johnson and an 18-foot jumper by Dawson, going back up seven with 4:09 remaining.

St. Bonaventure scored twice to again get within three, but Dawson drilled a clutch jumper with 2:57 left and after the Bonnies again got within three, Dawson hit another 15-foot jumper to make it 79-74 with 1:22 left.

Ray Blackburn then converted a basket to again pull the Bonnies within three, but Carter drilled a deep three-pointer to put the Blue Hens up 82-76 with 41 seconds to play. However Saint Bonaventure would not go away, as a three-pointer by Hall made it 82-79 with 31 seconds left.

After Johnson hit one of two free throws for Delaware, Hall scored while being fouled to make it a two-point game. Hall then missed the ensuing free throw but Johnson was called for a traveling violation while grabbing a loose ball, giving Saint Bonaventure the ball back down two with 16.7 seconds to play. But Ledsome took a charge as Hall drove to the basket, and Carter hit two free throws with four seconds on the clock to put the game away.

Delaware, which shot just 26.3 percent from three-point range in its first two games, went 11 of 21 from the three-point line and shot 50 percent from the field for the game. Saint Bonaventure shot 54 percent from floor, the third straight Blue Hen opponent to shoot over 50 percent.

Saint Bonaventure opened the game with six straight points, but the Blue Hens answered with an 8-0 run on a layup by Brian Johnson and consecutive three-pointers by Egerson and D.J. Boney. However the Bonnies countered with 10 straight points and extended the lead to 21-10 before a three-pointer by Johnson ended the run.

Maurice Thomas answered with a basket for Saint Bonaventure, but consecutive three-pointers by Dawson and Johnson followed by a free throw and a jumper from Egerson cut the SBU advantage to 23-22 at the 7:05 mark. The Blue Hens regained the lead with 4:20 on the clock on the third three-pointer of the half by Johnson, and after a Bonnies basket, UD went back ahead 30-28 on a jumper by Adam Pegg, the first points of his Blue Hen career.

Delaware led 35-32 at the 2:42 mark following a pair of free throws by Carter, but the Bonnies scored the final six points of the half, including a three-pointer at the buzzer by Hall, to take a 38-35 advantage into the half.

“Our defense was really great tonight that allowed us to get our first win,” said UD third-year head coach Monté Ross. “Although the stats might not be indicative of that, the defense our guys played tonight was a lot better than in the first two games. We got big stops when we needed them and hit some big shots down the stretch.”

The Blue Hens wrap up play in the Garden State Challenge Sunday when Delaware faces Marist at 4 p.m. at the Louis Brown Athletic Center at Rutgers.