By Andy Walter

TOWSON, Md. — Right from the start, players from both teams seemed to be falling more than usual.

By late in the first half, when both Delaware’s Dylan Painter and Ebby Asamoah had to be helped off the SECU Arena court with ankle injuries, the situation seemed to be getting serious.

By halftime on Thursday night, though, Blue Hens’ men’s basketball coach Martin Ingelsby said he wasn’t really thinking about the condition of the court in Towson’s arena.

“We were playing really well,” said Ingelsby. “So the guys were confident, we were upbeat at halftime.

“I never thought we’d walk down after halftime, the officials would bring us together and talk about, ‘Hey, if somebody else falls down, we’re going to suspend the game.’”

So sure enough, less than two minutes into the second half, when Delaware’s Jameer Nelson, Jr. fell to the floor, the officials stopped the contest.

After the referees met with both coaches at mid-court, an announcement was made to the crowd that the CAA game had been suspended because of unsafe playing conditions.

“After Jameer fell, there was no question,” said Ingelsby. “They went to the table and brought us together and said they’re going to suspend the game.”

The contest will be resumed at a later date with the Hens leading 38-29 and 18:42 left in the second half.

Clearly, the surface of the floor was different than what either team had seen before. Delaware noticed it during an afternoon shoot-around.

Both teams described it as both sticky and slippery — which, of course, are opposite things.

There is no ice under the floor or a leaky roof in the nine-year-old facility — things that have caused floor problems at other indoor venues.

“I don’t know if it was the humidity in the gym or what not,” said Ingelsby. “And the guys were talking about the ball being sticky. It was definitely a unique experience. I’ve never been a part of something like that, no doubt.”

The full impact of the situation isn’t clear yet.

Asamoah, who left the arena with his left foot in a walking boot, was believed to have been injured when he stepped on another player’s foot. It wasn’t clear how Painter suffered what Ingelsby said was a sprained ankle.

The 6-foot-10 center fell on a play under the basket. He is listed as out for the Hens’ 4 p.m. game at James Madison on Saturday.

Asamoah is said to be questionable for the contest but is not listed as a starter.

“I’m feeling all right,” Asamoah said shortly after the game ended. “I’ll be back. I’ll be back soon.”

Pegues is Cards’ coach

Former Delaware basketball star Mike Pegues finds himself in the unexpected position of being a college head coach at a storied program.

The 44-year-old Pegues was named the interim head coach at Louisville this week after the school parted ways with Chris Mack.

It’s actually the second time Pegues has been the Cardinals’ head coach this season. He coached them to a 5-1 record when Mack was suspended at the start of the year.

“I think the rest of the world will see what a terrific coach he is,” Mack was quoted in November. “A lot of times, guys that are assistants never really get their shot to be at the forefront of the program, the face of the program. And Mike is such a terrific leader, he’ll do a great job in my absence.”

Still the Blue Hens’ all-time leading scorer, Pegues interviewed for the Delaware job when Ingelsby was hired six seasons ago. In a video message Louisville posted, Pegues said he doesn’t plan on having the Cardinals just go through the motions the rest of the season.

“We are obviously in difficult times, tough times,” said Pegues. “But as I’ve always been taught, tough times don’t last, tough people do.

“This team will not crawl to the finish line. We will fight, we will scrap and we will claw every minute, every day.”

Short-handed Hornets

When a team’s list of injured players is longer than its list of available ones, it’s clearly a difficult situation.

On Monday, the Delaware State women’s basketball team used just five players in a 53-48 loss to South Carolina State. Alexis Moragne, Unique Miller, Janasia Law, Breazia Robinson and Rebekka Twine each played all 40 minutes for first-year coach E.C. Hill.

The Hornets were left in the predicament because seven players were sidelined with injuries — five for knee/ankle injuries, one for a concussion and another for a hand injury. Another player left the squad for personal reasons.

DelState does have two walk-ons it could play in case of emergency. The Hornets are slated to have seven players available players for its scheduled 2 p.m. MEAC game at Morgan State on Saturday.

UD getting videoboards

The University of Delaware announced this week that it is installing two new videoboards in Delaware Stadium.

The school is also putting a board in its soccer venue, Grant Stadium, will all three in place by next fall.

The main Delaware Stadium board will be 40 feet high by 60 feet wide with an auxiliary board at the other end of the stadium measuring 11 feet by 18 feet. Both displays will feature 10-millimeter pixel spacing.

The Grant Stadium board will measure 11 feet by 24 feet. Daktronics is making the boards.

“We are thrilled to add these digital displays, as we continue to make upgrades across our facilities that will improve the experiences of our fans and other events that take place in these venues,” said UD athletic director Chrissi Rawak.

Follow Andy Walter on Twitter at @DSNSports.