NEWARK, DE – All-America candidate Harding Nana led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds, 12 of those points coming over the final 10:33, as Delaware pulled away late to win its home opener, 89-77, over UNC Greensboro in men's basketball action Monday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The Spartans, which had a four-game winning streak halted, got 22 points and nine rebounds from junior guard Ricky Hickman. UNCG (7-4) also got 14 points and 13 rebounds from Kyle Hines, his fifth double-double of the season. Kevin Oleksiak also added 15 points.
Delaware (3-6), which snapped a six-game losing skid, was playing its home opener after eight games away from the Bob Carpenter Center. The Blue Hens also got 18 points from Andrew Washington, 11 of those in the second half.
“They have some good shooters,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “Nana took over late and they got to the line a lot because we started reaching in on defense.”
The teams went toe-to-toe right from the outset, almost playing a game of H-O-R-S-E. Whenever one team would knock down a big shot, the other seemed to have an answer. If one team came up with a big defensive stop, the other one matched it.
Sam McMahon came off the bench to score 10 points in the first nine minutes of the game to keep Delaware even as the teams were tied at 18-18 midway through the first half. Dwayne Johnson knocked down a pair of three pointers early on for UNCG, but left the game with seven minutes left in the first half after he turned his left ankle under the UNCG basket. He returned to play in the second half.
With just over four minutes to play in the half, the Blue Hens opened up a nine-point lead. UNCG came right back to cut it two. Just after a monster block by Hines on a Henry Olawoye dunk attempt, Everson Simmons knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner to make it a 35-33 game. However, Delaware scored six of the last eight points, including a reverse lay-up by Olawoye to close out the half, to take a 41-35 lead into the locker room.
The Spartans opened the second half with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 43-43. UNCG regained the lead with 14:30 to play on a spin move and bucket by Hines, 51-49. UNCG then opened up a five-point lead at the 10-minute mark, 61-56, when Hickman knocked down a three-pointer from the right corner.
But Delaware, which has only lost two home openers since the Carpenter Center opened in 1991, ran off 12 straight points to regain the lead. A three-pointer by Nana opened the run, answering Hickman's right corner shot with one of his own. Nana would close the run out, as well, from the exact same spot to give Delaware a 68-61 lead with 6:47 to play.
The Spartans closed back to within four on Kevin Oleksiak's putback, 72-68, with 5:05 to play. But Delaware went out on a 9-3 run to open up the first double-digit lead of the night for either team, 81-71, and the Blue Hens went on from there.
UNCG continues its two-game road swing with a Wednesday night contest at William & Mary. Game time is 7 pm.
SIDELINES: The quartet of Kyle Hines, Kevin Oleksiak, Dwayne Johnson and Brian Beckford had nearly 100 family and friends...The double-double by Hines was the 16th of his career... Hickman has scored in double figures in all eight games he has played in and will join the league leaders in scoring after he plays at William & Mary (75 percent games played minimum)... The crowd of 3,190 was the first time in 51 home games that attendance at the Carpenter Center dipped below the 4,000 mark.
AGATE
DELAWARE 89, UNC GREENSBORO 77
UNC GREENSBORO (7-4)
Hickman, Ricky 6-15 9-12 22; Oleksiak, Kevin 6-18 2-2 15; Hines, Kyle 5-10 4-6 14; Johnson, Dwayne 2-7 1-4 7; Simmons, Everson 2-4 1-1 6; McClenny, David 1-2 3-4 6; Tooms, Bart 1-4 2-2 4; Boddie, Devin 1-1 0-0 3; Moore, Donald 0-0 0-0 0; Everette, Dustin 0-0 0-0 0; Beckford, Brian 0-2 0-0 0; Akinosho, Matt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-63 22-31 77.
DELAWARE (3-6)
Nana, Harding 7-15 7-9 24; Washington, Andrew 5-10 6-10 18; McMahon, Sam 5-5 3-4 16; Cannon, Calvin 1-7 7-7 10; Olawoye, Henry 4-6 0-0 8; Courtney, Herb 3-7 2-3 8; Taylor, Zaire 1-5 0-0 3; Madera, Raphael 1-5 0-0 2; Hewson, Matt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 25-33 89.
Halftime: Delaware 41-35. 3-point goals-UNC Greensboro 7-22 (Johnson, Dwayne 2-2; McClenny, David 1-2; Hickman, Ricky 1-5; Simmons, Everson 1-1; Boddie, Devin 1-1; Oleksiak, Kevin 1-9; Beckford, Brian 0-1; Tooms, Bart 0-1), Delaware 10-21 (Nana, Harding 3-8; McMahon, Sam 3-3; Washington, Andrew 2-3; Cannon, Calvin 1-4; Taylor, Zaire 1-3). Fouled out--UNC Greensboro-McClenny, David, Delaware-McMahon, Sam. Rebounds-UNC Greensboro 39 (Hines, Kyle 13), Delaware 40 (Nana, Harding 11). Assists-UNC Greensboro 12 (Oleksiak, Kevin 4), Delaware 17 (Taylor, Zaire 8). Total fouls-UNC Greensboro 21, Delaware 21. Att. - 3190
- UNCG -
