CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL RECAP - NOV. 18
Bucknell 82, Delaware 66
Box Score
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware could not handle the hot-shooting of Bucknell University Wednesday night as the Blue Hens dropped an 82-66 men's basketball verdict to the Bison at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Bucknell (2-2), which won its second straight, shot 57.1 percent (24 of
42) from the field, drained five of eight attempts from beyond the three-point line, knocked down 29 of 33 free throws attempts, and were never seriously threatened in the second half in posting the win.
Delaware (0-2), off to an 0-2 start for the fourth straight year, could manage just 36.6 percent shooting from the field (26 of 71) and was outscored by 19 points at the foul line.
Guard Darryl Shazier led Bucknell with a career-high 24 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field and a perfect 9 for 9 performance from the foul line while forward Patrick Behan added 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds and guard Bryson Johnson came off the bench to contribute
12 points.
For Delaware, junior guard Jawan Carter led the Hens as he scored 17 points for the second straight game and dished out three assists while junior guard Alphonso Dawson added 10 points (on 4 of 21 shooting) and team-high eight rebounds and junior guard D.J. Boney contributed 10 points, four rebounds, and four steals. The Hens hit just 26 of 71 shots from the field, were 4 of 18 from beyond the three-point arc, and committed 18 turnovers.
"We executed well on both sides of the court for the first 12-15 minutes of the game," said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. "But then we had some major breakdowns, which led to some easy baskets for them. We got a stop early in the second half, but we couldn't put them together. Our guys didn't hang their heads and continued to fight, which is what our program is about. We have a young team, but we won't use that as an excuse."
Shazier scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the first half as Bucknell jumped out to a 36-24 lead at the break thanks to an 18-4 run to end the stanza. Delaware took a 20-18 lead on a jumper by freshman Jamelle Hagins with 5:58 left in the half, but Bucknell reeled off 12 straight points to take a 10-point lead before a layup by Hen freshman Malcolm Hawkins ended a four-minute drought. Behan and Shazier combined for the final nine points of the half for the Bison, who converted 14 of
23 shots from the field (60.9 percent) for the period.
The Bison stayed in front by at least 14 points until the final minute, going up by as much as 22 points at 69-47 with 6:40 left on a layup by Enoch Andoh. Delaware rallied back and narrowed the gap to 12 points at
76-64 on a layup by Kelvin McNeil with 1:04 left to play but Bucknell scored six of the last eight points to win going away.
Delaware will return to action Saturday and start a five-game road swing when they travel to The Palestra to to take on Pennsylvania at 7 p.m.
Western Michigan 83, VCU 67
Box Score
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Sophomore Bradford Burgess (Midlothian, Va.) led Virginia Commonwealth University with 16 points, but a dreadful second half doomed the Rams in an 83-67 loss to Western Michigan Wednesday at University Arena.
Junior Brandon Rozzell (Richmond, Va.) added 12 points and sophomore Jay Gavin (Seat Pleasant, Mich.) (pictured, right) provided 10 for VCU (1-1). Martelle McLemore scored 22 points and hauled in nine rebounds to lead Western Michigan, while David Kool added 17.
The Rams held a 42-35 halftime lead, but shot just 26 percent (10-of-38) in the second half as the Broncos (1-1) outscored VCU, 48-25. In their stead, Western Michigan shot a blistering 61 percent (17-of-28) in the second half and 47 percent (27-of-58) for the game.
"We have a lot of work to do on the defensive end of the court and understanding our responsibilities in the press," VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart said. "Not making shots certainly hurts that, but we still have to be able to recover and make a cohesive effort to force turnovers and force bad shots."
Rams' starting center Larry Sanders (Fort Pierce, Fla.), a preseason All-CAA First Team selection, was plagued by foul trouble most of the evening and finished with seven points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.
Without the 6-11 Sanders on the floor, the Broncos capitalized down low. Western Michigan outrebounded VCU, 52-37, and scored 48 points in the paint, compared to the Rams' 26.
"It really comes down to us making a complete team effort on the defensive end and rebounding," Gavin said. "I look at the stat sheet and see we got outrebounded by 15. That can't happen. It's a team effort when it comes to rebounding and we have to do a better job with that."
VCU looked poised to run away with the contest in the first 10 minutes. The Black and Gold used an early 12-1 run and grabbed a 26-9 advantage with 11:40 to play before halftime.
WMU would not go easily with Nate Hutchenson coming off the bench to ignite a 13-4 Bronco run to get within seven at 30-23.
The teams traded baskets the rest of the half with the Rams taking a 42-35 lead into the intermission.
The Rams return home on Saturday evening for a televised (MASN) contest against 17th-ranked Oklahoma. Game time at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center is set for 7:30 p.m.