Bad start, strong finish give Blue Hens mixed feelings against Princeton

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Delaware could revel in the comeback that made it close but curse the cause of why they fell behind in the first place Saturday at the Carpenter Center.

The Blue Hens appeared destined for defeat early in their basketball bout with Princeton, as the Tigers showed double-digit dominance in the first half and had a lead that grew to 17 points with 14 minutes left.

Delaware then found its shooting touch late while making its final nine field-goal attempts, including three straight clutch 3-pointers by Gerald Drumgoole Jr. that got them within one point in the final eight seconds.

Jyare Davis drills a first-half jumper for Delaware against Princeton.

But the inability to rebound a missed-on-purpose free throw in the last 2.8 seconds, when it appeared Delaware’s top rebounder Christian Ray may have been tripped, left the Hens disappointed with an 84-82 loss in front of 3,340.

“I told our group afterward ‘We’re not into moral victories,’” Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby said, “but you’re proud of us for our ability to battle back and give ourselves a chance and being able to speed up the game and get after them a little more defensively in the second half.”

How did Princeton take command?

Princeton (12-1), coming off its NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 run last year, entered the game 26th in the NCAA’s NET Rankings of all 362 Division I teams and quickly exhibited the type of execution that regularly carves up their foes.

The Tigers only loss was to Saint Joseph’s 74-70 and they’ve beaten Rutgers and now five CAA teams. A 9-0 record to start was Princeton’s best in more than 100 years.

At Delaware, an early 15-2 run paved the way for a 43-27 halftime lead as the Tigers made 8 of 16 3-point shots. Princeton still led 59-42 with 13:16 to go.

“Against a team like that, our first-half inefficiency offensively hurt us,” Ingelsby said. “We were 1 of 10 from the 3-point line. I thought we had some good looks and they’re very good.”

YEAR IN REVIEW: 23 Blue Hens…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bad-start-strong-finish-blue-225246054.html

Author : Delaware Online | The News Journal

Publish date : 2023-12-30 22:52:46

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