Saddler, Anderson Lead the Way as Delaware Continues Towson's Woes with 62-43 Victory
January 23, 2012
• Boxscore
Photo by George Eichner
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NEWARK, Del. -- Backcourt mates Devon Saddler (at right) and Kyle Anderson combined for 30 points and the University of Delaware pulled away in the final five minutes as the Blue Hens continued Towson's woes by posting a 62-43 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball victory Monday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The Blue Hens (9-10, 5-4 CAA), coming off a thrilling 77-74 double overtime victory over Georgia State, won their second game in three days and continued the futility for Towson (0-21, 0-9 CAA), which extended its NCAA Division I record losing streak to 40 straight games.
Saddler led all Delaware scorers with 16 points, including hitting a perfect 8 of 8 shots from the foul line, and added four steals, while Anderson found his stroke in the second half and finished with 14 points, including four three-pointers.
Delaware forward Josh Brinkley added 10 points - his fifth double-figure effort in the last six outings - to aid the Delaware victory while Jamelle Hagins chipped in with six points, nine rebounds, and three blocks, and reigning CAA Rookie of the Week Jarvis Threatt added nine points.
The Hens shot just 22 percent from the field in the opening half but bounced back in the second half to connect on 13 of 27 shots over the final 20 minutes. Delaware also connected on 18 of 20 free throws and committed just nine turnovers for the game.
Towson, which has not won a game since a victory over La Salle back on Dec. 29, 2010, got 16 points and seven rebounds from Marcus Damas while Robert Nwankwo added nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Tigers outrebounded the Hens 39-34 and pulled down 12 on the offensive end, but could not overcome 18 turnovers, 7 of 14 free throw shooting, and 33 percent shooting from the field (17 of 51).
Towson was held under 50 points for the 11th time this season and for the seventh time in the last eight games. The 43 points were the lowest amount allowed by Delaware in a CAA game since defeating James Madison 75-40 back on Jan. 15, 2005. Delaware has now defeated Towson three straight times and improved their all-time record at home vs. the Tigers to 27-7.
"We are extremely excited about coming out with a win tonight," said Delaware head coach Monté Ross, whose team will fly to Boston Tuesday and take on Northeastern Wednesday evening. "Towson is a team that will win some games this year because Pat (Towson head coach Pat Skerry) is having them play good defense. I was proud of our defensive effort, which helped us take a halftime lead. We made a concerted effort to the ball inside in the second half and that opened things up on the perimeter and enabled Kyle (Anderson) to get some open looks."
A tightly-contested defensive effort was the theme in the first half as neither team shot better than 38 percent from the field. Delaware, which held at least a share of the lead the entire night, built its biggest first half cushion at 14-8 on two Saddler free throws with 11:55 remaining.
Towson narrowed the gap to one-point several times in the first half and eventually tied the contest at 22-22 on two free throws from Delaware native Erique Gumbs with 1:25 remaining. A layup by Saddler with 1:13 left gave the Hens a 24-22 advantage at the break.
A jumper by Damas three and half minutes into the second half pulled the Tigers to within one-point again at 28-27, but Delaware stormed off on a 14-5 run to take its first double-digit lead at 42-32 with 11:58 remaining. Two three-pointers by Anderson and back-to-back dunks off steals by Saddler and Threatt highlighted the run.
But Towson held tough as Damas scored five straight points to narrow the Delaware advantage to five the Tigers trailed by just eight points at 48-40 after a Damas three-pointer with 6:53 remaining.
That would be as close as Towson would get the rest of the evening as the Tigers would not hit another field goal until the final seconds. Anderson answered Damas' trey with a three-pointer of his own and Hagins started an 11-0 run with a dunk just under two minutes later.
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