By Andy Walter

NEWARK — You’d be hard-pressed to find a player who’s logged more important minutes for the Delaware men’s basketball program than Kevin Anderson.

So if the veteran guard wants to take charge of a game, you’ll get no argument from Blue Hens’ coach Martin Ingelsby.

“I kept saying, ‘I need you to lead this group,’” said Ingelsby. “I need to have the ball in your hands, making the right decisions. ... I feel calm when it’s in his hands, game on the line, that he’s going to make the right decisions.”

Thursday was another one of those nights when Anderson gave Delaware just what it needed.

Anderson finished with 22 points — his second highest-point total of the season — as the Hens shook off Northeastern to post a 74-61 CAA win over the Huskies before a crowd of 2,347 at the Carpenter Center.

While Anderson is almost always a big part of what Delaware does, it’s often more as a playmaker. On Thursday, though, he hit 9-of-13 shots from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three-point range.

Anderson sank back-to-back threes in the final three minutes as the lead ballooned to 72-55 for the Hens (7-4 CAA, 16-8 overall).

“Early, I was just feeling it,” said Anderson. “I came off a couple screens and hit a couple mid-ranges. And then Ry (Allen) came up to me and was like, ‘Keep going, I can see that you’re making shots today. We’re just going to keep feeding you.’ And that’s what they did.”

On a night when four players finished in double figures, Delaware would have liked to have a little easier time putting away Northeastern (1-12 CAA, 7-17 overall). But there’s a reason the Huskies were picked second in the CAA’s preseason poll behind only the Hens.

After trailing by 12 in the first half, the momentum belonged to Northeastern early in the second half. The Huskies started the second half on a 14-4 run to take a 47-42 advantage.

Ingelsby said what he liked was that Delaware didn’t panic on offense, played hard on defense and just worked its way into being in control.

The Hens took the lead for good when a drive from Jameer Nelson, Jr. (18 points on 9-of-11 shooting) put them ahead 49-48 with 11:35 remaining.

“At times, when we’ve gotten down, I think we’ve had a little bit of, ‘All right, I’m going to get us back into this, it’s me,’” said Ingelsby. “But I thought we did a really good job of taking what the defense gave us and making the right decisions — and being selfless in those decisions.

“It was on the line,” said Ingelsby. “You’re feeling a little of turning.”

Often, Delaware simply just drove to the basket. The Hens took only 14 three-pointers — making six — while scoring 50 points in the paint.

Delaware was playing its third straight game without injured center Dylan Painter (sprained ankle). Instead, though, sophomore Andrew Carr (14 points, seven rebounds) and freshman Jyare Davis (12 points, five rebounds) picked up the slack.

Carr played the final 17 minutes with three fouls and didn’t pick up another. Davis finished with four fouls but also still made some aggressive plays down the stretch.

“Without Dylan, it’s going to be me crashing (for rebounds) and sometimes one of the guards,” said Carr. “But most of the time it’s just going to be me. You’ve just got stay aggressive and get those extra possessions.”

Carr said the Hens have a great deal of confidence that somebody is always going to step up for them. Thursday was Anderson’s turn, among others.

“That’s the best part about our team, I think,” said Carr. “We have so many different weapons. From game to game, you never know who it’s going to be.

“We really feed off each other. Whoever is getting it that night, we’re going to find ways to give them the ball in their spots. And that’s how we’re going to win games.”

Free throws

A stats mistake incorrectly listed Carr as having four fouls in the arena when he only had three early in the second half. ... Davis, the two-time CAA Rookie of the Week, has scored at least 12 points in three games in a row. ... Allen, who had eight points on Thursday, needs three more to pass Greg Smith for third on the school’s all-time scoring list. ... This was the second of four straight home games for Delaware, which hosts Hofstra on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. It’s the first time since 2014 that the Hens have played four in a row at home.

Follow Andy Walter on Twitter at @DSNSports.