City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Michael Zingrone (@mjzingrone)
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Despite going up against a Delaware State program that had just knocked off a Big East squad in St. John’s, Delaware took care of business against its in-state rival, pulling away late for a 64-49 win.

At First…
Delaware started out strong with a pair of early threes from Chivarsky Corbett, jumping out to a 15-8 lead in the game’s first five minutes. Quickly after, Delaware St. was able to answer with a 11-2 run over a six minute span, that featured four UDel turnovers as the Blue Hens went five minutes without a field goal. Delaware was able to regain their lead, going ahead by as much as eight with 6:22 left in the first half thanks to a 10-0 run that featured two more Corbett triples. The Hornets fought to end of the half only trailing 31-28, after going 0-for-10 on 3-pointers. 

Turning Point…
To start the first half, UDel and Delaware St. were trading baskets. With 14:00 to go, Archbishop Carroll product Ryan Daly hit a 3-pointer, followed by another Corbett three to spark a 10-0 run to push the lead to seven. With Delaware St. struggling to score down the stretch, only recording eight points in a 12-minute span, UDel increased the lead to 12 with two minutes left and had no trouble holding on from there.

Standout Stars…
Corbett, one year removed from a torn ACL that cost him all but four games of the 2015-16 season, is steadily getting back into the form that he displayed as a talented freshman two years ago. The 6-foot-7, 195-pound wing knocked down four 3-pointers in the first half to pave the way in a 16-point outing, his third consecutive game in double figures and fourth in the last five. Point guard Anthony "Champ" Mosley added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists; sophomore big man Eric Carter had six points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Noteworthy Number(s)...
7: Delaware grabbed the first seven rebounds of the game, setting the tone for a game in which the home team dominated the glass. The Blue Hens came into the game out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 10 boards/game while the Hornets had been out-rebounded by six boards/game, so it’s not surprising that UDel won the rebounding battle 46-26.

.067: Delaware State, which had been shooting the ball extremely well from the 3-point arc over the season’s first seven games, struggled mightily from deep against its in-state rival. The Hornets didn’t make their first triple until midway through the second half after missing all 10 long-range attempts in the first half, finishing the game 1-for-15 (.067) from deep in the loss.

Up Next…
Delaware (5-3) @ Yale (2-4) -- Sun., Dec. 11, 2 PM