Blue Hens Get Big Effort from Hagins, Hold on Down the Stretch for 67-66 CAA Victory over Hofstra
January 4, 2012
Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell
NEWARK, Del. -- Jamelle Hagins (at right) poured in a career-high 21 points and pulled down 18 boards, none bigger than his rebound off a Hofstra missed free throw with one second left to play with the University of Delaware clinging to a one-point lead, as the Blue Hens held on for a 67-66 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball victory Wednesday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Delaware (6-7, 2-1 CAA), which improved to 5-1 at home this season, never trailed the entire game as the Hens snapped a three-game losing streak and ended a personal six-game losing streak to the Pride.
Hagins, a 6-9 junior forward, posted his eighth double-double of the season as he dominated the action inside, connecting on 9 of 14 shots from the field, pulling down 15 rebounds on the defensive end, and blocking five shots, including two in the final minute of play as Delaware held off the Pride.
Hofstra (6-9, 0-3 CAA), which lost its second straight game and remained winless in league play, had the chance to put the game into overtime but leading scorer and 80 percent free throw shooter Mike Moore missed two free throws with 22 seconds left with the game knotted at 65-65 and Shemiye McLendon misfired on the back end of a two-shot foul with two seconds left that could have tied the game.
Hagins went high to grab McLendon's miss and was fouled by David Imes with 0.9 seconds left. Hagins misfired on the first free throw and then purposely missed the second. Hofstra got the rebound but Imes' length of the court heave was well off the mark.
Delaware freshman Kyle Anderson (at left) scored a career-high 17 points thanks to three three-pointers while junior guard Devon Saddler, the Hens’ leading scorer at 20.2 points per game, chipped in with 14 points and four assists.
Moore, the Pride’s leading scorer at 20.9 points per outing, scored 24 points to lead the Hofstra attack while Nathaniel Lester added 15 points and 11 rebounds, McLendon contributed 11 points off the bench, and Stephen Nwaukoni pulled down 12 rebounds before fouling out in the final seconds.
"The big thing was that we came out with a win tonight," said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. "We didn't play great offensively and we committed too many turnovers, but I like the way that our guys responded and never gave up the lead. I was very happy with our defensive effort even though we gave up too many offensive rebounds. But we really stepped up in the second half."
Delaware, which had lost its last three games by a combined total of just 13 points, overcame 16 turnovers for the game and 35 percent shooting from the field in the second half (9 of 26) by holding Hofstra to just 32.8 percent shooting from the field (22 of 67) for the game. Moore was just 8 of 25 from the field but did knock down three three-pointers on the night.
The Hens stormed out to a 19-4 lead in the first six minutes of the game but Hofstra recovered and used a surge to cut the Delaware lead to five. The Hens eventually took a 10-point lead at 39-29 into the break.
Delaware stayed in front by at least eight points for the first seven minutes of the second half but the Pride chipped away at the advantage and eventually gained their first share of the lead at 58-58 on a jumper by Lester with 5:14 left to play.
The Hens regained the lead at 63-60 thanks to layups from Hagins and Khalid Lewis before Hofstra tied the game again at 63-63 on a three-pointer by Moore with 1:43 remaining. Delaware’s Josh Brinkley and Moore traded baskets to knot the score once again and the Pride had the chance to take sole possession of the lead for the first time all night but Moore missed both ends of a two-shot foul with 22 seconds remaining.
Hagins was fouled after grabbing Moore’s second miss and calmly sank two free throws with 20 seconds left to give the Hens the lead for good at 67-65. Hagins then blocked shots by Moore and Imes in a four-second span but eventually fouled McLendon with two seconds remaining. McLendon made the first free throw to cut the lead to 67-66 and Delaware called a timeout to ice the shooter.
The tactic worked as McLendon missed the back end of the two-shot foul and Hagins leapt high from the right side of the lane to secure the game-clinching rebound.
Delaware will return to action Saturday when the Hens travel to Williamsburg, Va. to take on William & Mary at 4 p.m.
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