Delaware Makes History with 79-62 Win over Campbell
Dylan Smith
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | TICKETS | PHOTO GALLERY
HIGHLIGHTS | PRESS CONFERENCE – DELAWARE | PRESS CONFERENCE – CAMPBELL
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A 24-point effort from Niels Lane and a pair of double-doubles from John Camden and Erik Timko lifted 12th-seeded Delaware (14-19) to a 79-62 victory over fifth-seeded Campbell, becoming the lowest seed in conference history to advance to the quarterfinals of the CAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
With the victory, the Blue Hens became just the eighth double-digit seed to advance to the quarterfinals, set to take on No. 4 William & Mary (17-14, 11-7) at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Campbell moved to 15-17 on the season.
Lane unloaded an 11-of-15 shooting clip from the floor en route to matching his career high in scoring. Timko dazzled with a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double to go with three treys and a trio of assists in the victory. Camden matched his sharpshooting teammate on the boards while chipping in 15 points.
Campbell and Delaware were evenly matched in the first half, seeing 10 total ties and neither team leading by more than two possessions through the first 20 minutes. The two programs went shot-for-shot over the first 6:04 of the contest. Campbell’s Tasos Cook hit a triple and finished at the rim for a personal 5-0 spurt to take a 16-11 lead with 12:55 remaining in the first half.
The tandem of Trent Middleton Jr. and Camden tied the game at 16 with a triple and putback bucket, respectively. The Hens’ Timko drained a triple after back-to-back slams from Niels Lane with under a minute to play. Delaware secured a 36-30 lead at the intermission after Izaiah Pasha found an open Camden in the corner, sinking a trey before the halftime horn sounded.
The Hens remained hot to start the second half as their lead jumped to double digits, 40-30, in the first minute of action with another Lane rim-shaking slam.
Campbell chipped away at the deficit with a 12-5 run as Colby Duggan scored eight points on the scoring stretch to bring the Camels within two, 44-42, with 14:02 remaining in regulation. However, Delaware rattled off seven straight points with another Timko trey to cap the stretch and give the Hens a 53-44 lead with 10:16 to play.
The 12th-seeded Hens saw Campbell work its deficit down to as few as three over the next five minutes until Pasha picked up a loose ball in a scramble on the floor and sank a wide-open layup. The finish sparked nine unanswered points, part of a 19-6 run to end the contest.
Cook produced a team-best 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting for the Camels, while
Colby Duggan (12 pts.),
Elijah Walsh (10 pts.) and
Cam Gregory (10 pts.) all scored in double figures.