Men's basketball rallies to win fifth straight game

Down 11 points early in the second half, the Hens got back to what they worked on all summer—playing better defense.

They were able to do just that, and now they have a five-game winning streak, something they have not done in 10 years.

"They say ‘Act like you've been there,'"senior guard Alphonso Dawson said about the win streak. "I haven't been there so it feels good."

The Hens went on a 27-5 run to end the game and defeated Delaware State 61-50 in the Route 1 Rivalry game on Saturday afternoon.

"I think defensively, we really imposed our will on the game," Head Coach Monte Ross said. "I was really proud of our effort because sometimes when you get down like that, sometimes there's a tendency to start pointing fingers and not staying together. But our guys really stayed together, really banded together and guarded them, and were fortunate enough to come out with the win."

After a back-and-forth first half that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes, Delaware State went into halftime up 27-26. The Hornets came out strong in the second half, going up 43-32 with 13:52 left in the game after a dunk by Marques Oliver.

Then the Hens began to claw their way back into the game.

Senior Brian Johnson, who played a season-high 22 minutes after returning from a torn meniscus, hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to seven points. It was Johnson's only basket of the game, but it was a big one.

After Delaware State hit one of two free throws, senior Alphonso Dawson, who had a game-high 16 points, hit two free throws to cut the Hornets' lead to six. The Hens defense then prevented Delaware State from hitting a field goal for the next four minutes.

"I think, especially in the first half, we got caught up in the whole rivalry thing," Dawson said. "Then we finally settled down and played our defense. Once we got down and played our defense, holding guys to under a certain percent, making sure guys don't shoot uncontested shots and blocking and rebounds, and we just got back to it. That was a real chippy game, and once we dug our feet in, saw we could do it, we came through."

Sophomore Josh Brinkley, who had 13 points and six rebounds, scored four straight points cut to the deficit to one with about seven minutes left. After a Delaware State basket, Dawson made a layup, and the Hens' defense forced a turnover.

On Delaware's possession, senior Jawan Carter, who had 13 points, drove down the lane and dished to sophomore Jamelle Hagins who slammed the ball home to give the Hens the lead and send the home crowd into raptures. Hagins finished with six points, nine rebounds and five blocks on the day.

Delaware State took the lead on its next possession before Delaware freshman Devon Saddler hit a jumper to put the Hens back in the lead. After the Hens forced another turnover, Johnson found Dawson open in the corner for a three to put the Hens up 54-50 with four minutes remaining.

"People have no idea how big Brian Johnson is to our team and to my game," Dawson said. "Brian is like my quarterback."

Dawson sealed the game with another three-pointer with 1:43 left that put the Hens up 58-50. It was a big game for Dawson, who is still adjusting to his sixth-man role after starting for most of his career, but Ross thinks he has settled in now.

"His shots went in today, and hopefully this is going to be the springboard for him, because we need him," Ross said. "Whatever we are going to do this year, we need him to be a big part of it like he was today. He hit some really really big shot for us."

One of the main reasons the Hens were able to come back into the game was because of the stellar frontcourt games by Brinkley and Hagins. Both were able to force Delaware State into many tough, contested shots in the second half.

"Our defense has gotten a lot better, we've been strapping up and our inside play has been better," Brinkley said. "We've got coach Mike Pegues, and he's helping us develop."

The win gives Delaware its fifth consecutive victory after starting the season off 0-2. Next Saturday, the Hens travel to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia to take on Villanova, which is ranked No. 12 in the nation.

"When you play defense the way we're playing it," Ross said. "you give yourself a chance to win every single night out, no matter what you do offensively."