ALBANY, N.Y. — Delaware stumbled out of the blocks in dropping its opener on Tuesday.
But the Blue Hens looked a little more like the team they expect to be in their second try.
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ALBANY, N.Y. — Delaware stumbled out of the blocks in dropping its opener on Tuesday.
But the Blue Hens looked a little more like the team they expect to be in their second try.
Delaware scored 22 consecutive points during a decisive second half run as the Hens pulled away for an 83-63 men’s basketball victory over Siena on Saturday night at the Times Union Center.
Jameer Nelson Jr., who scored the final eight points of the dominating spurt, led Delaware (1-1) with 19 points. Dylan Painter recorded his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Ryan Allen contributed 15 points in the road win.
“I’m proud of our group to bounce back and get a good road win,” said UD coach Martin Ingelsby. “We challenged our guys on the defensive end, and to hold Siena to 63 points on their home court is impressive. We’re not where we need to be offensively and are still searching for our identity on that end of the court, but this is a great win to build on.”
Kevin Anderson and Andrew Carr each finished with nine points for the Hens, who shot 55.4 percent from the field, held a 34-25 rebounding advantage and enjoyed a 46-20 points in the paint margin.
Delaware, which lost at Davidson in its opener, led 42-33 at the half, and was still up eight at 55-47 with 12 minutes to play. The Hens then ran away from the Saints by scoring 22 points in a row, extending the margin to 77-47 at the 5:32 mark.
Nelson Jr. scored 12 points during the run, while Jyare Davis added a pair of buckets.
Siena, which had its 14-game home winning streak at the Times Union Center snapped, scored 12 of the final 14 points to close with 20 at the final buzzer.
The Saints led 21-19 eight minutes into the game, but Delaware took control by scoring 18 of the next 20 points. The Hens went on an eight-point spurt, and following two Saints free throws, UD again scored eight points in a row to go in front 37-23 with 4:43 on the clock.
Siena clawed back within seven, before Allen converted a driving layup in the final minute to give the Hens a 42-33 halftime advantage.