Penn Drops Season Opener To Delaware State In Overtime
Despite a 31 point effort from Tony Hicks, Penn lost the season opener 77-75 to Delaware State. The Hornets were led by DeAndre Haywood who scored 23 points.
The Hornets led 14-5 at the first TV timeout despite Penn having a lion’s share of possession. However, the Quakers were unable to get their shots to fall. Once Hicks came alive, Penn quickly tied the game at 20 midway through the first half. From there, it was a back and forth affair with neither team putting much distance between each other. The first half ended with Darien Nelson-Henry making a layup, but missing the free throw. Penn took a 35-34 lead at the break.
Hicks started strong as he scored 5 of the first 6 points for Penn. As the second half wore on, Penn was able to take a 59-52 lead after Hicks drained a three pointer. However, that lead would not last as Delaware State chipped away at the lead and eventually tied with over a minute remaining. Hicks had a chance to win the game in regulation, but his jumper was no good.
The extra period saw Delaware State take a slight edge early on and they were able to hang on for the win. Kendall Gray went 1 of 2 from the line in the final seconds, but Haywood’s rebound allowed them to get two more chances. Haywood drained both to make it 77-72 while Hicks hit a three pointer at the buzzer to make the score 77-75.
Haywood led the Hornets with 23 points on 8 of 16 shooting including 7 of 10 from the free throw line. Tyshawn Bell had 19 points thanks largely to his 4 of 7 from beyond the three point line. Kendall Gray had 17 points and 9 boards while also blocking 6 shots. The Hornets shot 42.9% from the floor (24-56) and 37.5% from three point range (6 of 16). They hit 23 of 30 free throws (76.7%) and committed 10 turnovers.
Hicks was only 1 of 2 Quakers to hit double figures. He went 9 of 20 from the floor and 5 of 12 from beyond the arc. He also hit 8 of 13 from the free throw line to reach his total of 31 points. Antonio Woods had 11 points on only 3 of 9 shooting. He also went 4 of 4 from the free throw line. The Quakers went 25 of 60 from the floor (41.7%) and 8 of 28 from beyond the arc (28.6%). They managed to hit 17 of 27 free throws (63%) while committing 15 turnovers.
Delaware State (1-0) faces Baptist Bible on Monday evening. Penn (0-1) will take on Rider (0-1) Tuesday night at home.
Dartmouth Sloppy In Crushing Defeat At St. Bonaventure
A poor shooting performance and 19 turnovers doomed Dartmouth in their 77-57 season opening loss to St. Bonaventure. Gabas Maldunas made his first appearance for Dartmouth since tearing his ACL in January and was rusty at times in his 24 minutes on the court.
The first half saw poor shooting from both teams, but the Bonnies managed to get out to a 21-11 lead with 7 minutes left in the first half. The Big Green were able to salt away at the deficit with a 9-2 run heading into the under 4 TV timeout. Both teams would trade free throws and buckets to end the first half as Dartmouth trailed 28-27 after the opening 20 minutes. Dartmouth was 8 of 24 in the first half (33%) while the Bonnies were slightly worse at 9 of 29 (31%). Marcus Posley of the Bonnies led all scorers with 12 first half points.
The second half was dominated by St. Bonaventure as they continued to force bad shots from Dartmouth and turnovers as well. The Bonnies started the second half on an 18-5 run in the first eight minutes to take a 46-32 lead. The Big Green continued to struggle as the Bonnies saw three different players (Dion Wright, Jaylen Adams, and Jalen Adams) score at least 11 points in the second half alone. The Big Green were 11 of 29 in the second half (37.9%) and committed 11 turnovers. St. Bonaventure shot 17 of 35 (48.6%) from the floor and committed only two turnovers in the final 20 minutes.
The Big Green had joint leading scorers at 10 points in Alex Mitola and Kevin Crescenzi. Mitola shot 3 of 11 from the floor while Crescenzi went 3 of 8. Maldunas had 8 points and 9 rebounds on 2 of 7 shooting. Connor Boehm had 7 points and 11 boards. The Big Green finished the game going 19 of 53 (35.8%) from the floor and 6 of 16 (37.5%) from beyond the arc. They shot 13 of 19 (68.4%) from the free throw line.
The Bonnies had 5 players finish in double figures. Posley finished with 16 points on 7 of 16 shooting, Jaylen Adams also had 16 points on 5 of 7 shooting, Wright had 14 points and 7 boards on 6 of 13 shooting, Jalen Adams had 11 points on 3 of 4 shooting, and Andell Cumberbatch had 10 points and 10 boards on 2 of 12 shooting (6 of 7 on free throws). The Bonnies finished the game shooting 40.6% from the floor (26 of 64) and 42.9% from three point land (42.9%). The Bonnies also went 16 of 22 from the charity stripe (72.7%) and committed only 7 turnovers.
Dartmouth (0-1) faces Hartford (0-1) on Wednesday night on the road. St. Bonaventure (1-0) faces Siena (0-1) at home on Monday evening.