City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21)
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Often times after an ugly, sloppy game, the phrase “a win is a win” will be the resounding theme from whichever side emerges from the wreckage with the victory.

“It wasn’t pretty at times, but it was pretty at the end,” teams will say--or something to that effect--following such a contest.

For the short-handed Delaware Blue Hens (4-2), their 67-58 victory over the South Florida Bulls (2-6) really wasn’t pretty at all until the second half, but the scoreboard when the buzzer sounded was a beautiful sight, as it marked their second win this week and their third straight at home.

“We weren’t used to the length we were playing against,” said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. “A couple of times Kory [Holden] drove and tried to make a pass he usually makes, and it would get stolen or tipped away. Cazmon [Hayes] had a couple shots that were blocked, so we had to adjust to their length early on, and I think we made that adjustment. They didn’t get down on themselves because it wasn’t working, they just kept playing.”

For starters, there was a pretty obvious lid covering both rims, especially in the first half. In the opening frame, the Hens and Bulls combined to shoot 19-of-61, with an abismal 4-of-18 clip from beyond the arc. Ten of those field goal makes came in the last seven minutes before the break, which included a 13-2 Delaware run that created the Hens’ 33-19 halftime lead.

A combined sixteen fouls, fifteen turnovers, and ten blocked shots were also recorded in the first half. Nine of those blocks were South Florida’s.

The last minute of the half--which consisted of a strong Marvin King-Davis layup and a floating buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Holden--was a sight for some sore Delaware eyes after the less-than-stellar first fifteen minutes or so.

“It was definitely a good feeling for me because my shots weren’t falling, so I knew once that shot went down that it was going to be a good ending for me," Holden said. "Even with my shots not falling, coach kept telling me, ‘just keep shooting, keep shooting and it’s going to eventually fall.’”

“He listens when I say that,” said Ross with a light-hearted chuckle.

Strong performances by King-Davis and Holden ended up being the difference for UDel. Holden’s twenty-three points led all scorers.

King-Davis’ night was very well-rounded, as the senior forward had a double-double by halftime and totalled 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds on the night. 

And he did it on two slightly sprained ankles, no less.

“Just playing tough, they’re a bigger team so it kind of motivates you,” said King-Davis. “A lot of people think that if they’re big they’re going to smash you on the glass, so I took it as a personal challenge.”

“It’ll hurt in the morning,” he said of having played on his sprained ankles.

King-Davis' rebounds played a major role in a strong team performance on the glass against a sizable USF frontcourt; Delaware out-rebounded the Bulls, 48-34.

The second half wasn’t exactly gorgeous, but was much cleaner than the first, and the Hens never conceded the lead once, so there wasn’t much to complain about for Delaware after halftime.

Part of what made this game “ugly” offensively can be attributed to another phenomenal defensive effort for the Blue Hens, who entered the night coming off of a win over Bradley in which they held the Braves to only 47 points and 28-percent shooting.

For the second straight night, a Delaware team that allowed an average of 72.3 points in its first four games gave up less than sixty points, and held the Bulls--who aren’t necessarily known for a dominant shooting presence--to a shooting mark of 37-percent, and just 5-of-23 from beyond the arc.

In the end, no team wants to have the kind of start the Hens--or the Bulls--experienced, but the way they responded to their ugly opening showed character and toughness that will do Delaware well as they enter a stretch of six-straight road games that will include the likes of Boston college, eighth-ranked Villanova, and Colonial Athletic Association favorite Hofstra.

They’ve been showing that kind of toughness all season, amidst the losses of three key players--sophomore wing Chivarsky Corbett and forward Eric Carter are both out for the season, while junior wing Devonne Pinkard is nursing a foot injury--and will need to continue to do so as they enter that difficult series of road tests.

“We’re tough,” said Ross. “I think we have a tough, tough team. They’re tough physically, I think they’re even tougher mentally, and whatever we put in front of them, their mindset is, ‘alright, we’re going to go do it, and if we get knocked down, we’ll get back up and we’ll try to do it again,’ and I love that about this team.”

The Blue Hens have already been knocked down multiple times this season, and with the stretch that lies ahead, odds are they’ll be knocked down a few more times before the 2015 calendar year comes to close.

Time will tell how much this team can continue to get back up.