Hagins Leads Strong Defensive Effort as Delaware Posts 61-48 CAA Victory Over William & Mary
January 5, 2011
Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware men's basketball team fell behind by a point with 12 minutes remaining but responded with a 14-2 spurt to pull away from visiting William & Mary and post a 61-48 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Tribe Wednesday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Sophomore Jamelle Hagins (at right) had a big game inside for the Blue Hens by grabbing a career-best 17 rebounds and tying his career-high with seven blocked shots. Jawan Carter (at left) added 16 points for Delaware, while Devon Saddler chipped in 13 and Alphonso Dawson contributed 10. Delaware, which snapped a two-game losing skid, improved to 7-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference while equaling its win total from a year ago.
Marcus Kitts was the lone double figure scorer for the Tribe with 11 points while JohnMark Ludwick added nine for William & Mary, which dropped its fifth straight game while falling to 4-10 overall and 0-3 in the league.
William & Mary made 5 of 10 three-pointers in the first half but Delaware, which entered the week ranked third in Division I in three-point field goal percentage defense, limited the Tribe to just 8 of 26 overall shooting in the second period including 2 of 12 from behind the arc. Tribe guard Quinn McDowell, who entered the game ranked seventh in the league with 15.3 points per game, was held to just seven points on 3 of 10 shooting from the field.
Led by Carter’s 12 points in the opening period, Delaware scored its most first half points of the season while taking a 34-26 advantage into the break. However the Blue Hens would struggle over the first eight minutes of the second half, hitting just 2 of their first 12 shot attempts as the Tribe clawed back.
A layup by Saddler put Delaware in front 38-30 with 14:25 to play but William & Mary responded with a 9-0 run, taking its first lead of the period on two free throws by Julian Boatner at the 11:51 mark.
But the Blue Hens would take over from there, as a foul line jumper by Dawson ignited the 14-2 spurt that put Delaware in control. Carter followed with two free throws, and after a baseline jumper by Brian Johnson, Kelvin McNeil added a pair at the charity stripe to make it a 46-39 game with 9:29 to play. Brandon Britt countered with two free throws for the Tribe, but Johnson and Dawson each connected from three-point range on the Blue Hens’ next two possessions to extend the margin to double figures.
Britt and Kitts each scored as William & Mary pulled within 52-45 with five and a half minutes remaining, but Saddler hit one free throw and Hagins scored inside as Delaware went back up double digits. A three-pointer by McDowell made it a 55-48 game with 2:33 on the clock but the Tribe would not score again, as a layup by Hagins and a pair of free throws by Carter and Dawson closed the scoring.
“We had stretches where we played well offensively, but it’s good to get a win when you’re not at your best,” said Blue Hen head coach Monté Ross, whose squad improved to 4-1 at home this season. “Defense was certainly the key tonight, and Jamelle (Hagins) was a force inside for us. Offensively we’re coming along, and it bodes well to win by double digits when we didn’t play great.”
Delaware shot just 19 of 47 from the field for a 40.4 percentage, but held the Tribe to a 33.3 percentage (18 of 54) and held a commanding 44-27 rebounding advantage.
The Blue Hens used an early 8-0 run, culminated with consecutive three-pointers by Carter, to take a 14-9 advantage with 13:24 left in the opening half. William & Mary battled back to go ahead 24-22 on a free throw by Kitts but Delaware answered with a 10-0 spurt, including five straight points by Saddler, to take an eight point lead into the break.
The Blue Hens will look for their second consecutive victory on Saturday when Delaware travels to Drexel for a 4 p.m. game with the rival Dragons.
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