Delaware Stymies Top-Seeded Towson to Advance to CAA Championship Final
Rob Washburn
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 7, 2022) – Fifth-seeded Delaware advanced to the title game of the CAA Men’s Basketball Championship presented by Jersey Mike’s for the first time since 2014, knocking off top-seeded Towson, 69-56, in semifinal action on Monday night at the Entertainment & Sports Arena.
The Blue Hens (21-12), who are just the second No. 5 seed to ever reach the finals of the CAA Tournament, will meet either UNCW or Charleston in Tuesday’s 7 p.m. championship game. Towson, which dropped to 25-8, will participate in the NIT as the CAA regular-season champion.
Senior guard Kevin Anderson scored 13 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to lead a balanced offensive attack for Delaware. Freshman Jyare Davis tallied 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds, Dylan Painter scored 12 off the bench and Jameer Nelson, Jr. contributed 11 first-half points.
Towson also had four players score in double digits, led by post player Charles Thompson with 13. Jason Gibson poured in 12 points, Cam Holden added 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds and Nicolas Timberlake netted 10 points.
The teams traded buckets early before Nelson, Jr. nailed a three and followed with a layup to cap an 8-0 run that gave Delaware a 15-8 lead with 12:57 left in the half. The Tigers pulled within five midway through the period, but Davis hit back-to-back jumpers to spur an 11-0 Blue Hens surge that extended the Blue Hens’ advantage to 32-16 with 4:59 on the clock. Towson got treys from Timberlake and Gibson to help trim the deficit to 35-28 at halftime.
Towson caught fire to start the second half, going on a 7-0 run keyed by a long trey and then a layup from Gibson that brought the Tigers within 37-35 in the opening three minutes. Towson stayed within striking range over the next nine minutes, but Delaware got back-to-back threes from Anderson and Ebby Asamoah to go ahead, 54-44, with 8:14 left. Anderson buried another triple to make it 59-46 with 5:32 remaining and the Tigers never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Delaware shot 44.9% from the floor in the game, while holding Towson to just 31% FG shooting, which was its lowest mark of the season.
The Blue Hens are the first No. 5 seed since William & Mary in 2008 to reach the CAA championship game, and will be looking to become the first No. 5 seed to win the title. Delaware captured its only CAA title in 2014.
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