Delaware was coming off a basketball loss Thursday at Monmouth, which earned just its second Colonial Athletic Association win.
It was logical to wonder how the Blue Hens could cope with Charleston, which had just suffered its first two CAA defeats after winning 20 straight games to get into the national Top 25.
For 20 minutes Saturday at the Carpenter Center, the Blue Hens showed the way. They defended diligently and kept pace with the Cougars on the scoreboard by making 47 percent of their first-half shots.
“I thought we were in a good flow offensively in the first half,” Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby said, “and kinda had the game where we wanted it.”
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But winning college basketball games is a 40-minute exercise and Delaware could not complete the task in front of a season-high crowd of 2,875.
Charleston flexed its superiority in the second half of an 84-67 win that featured the Cougars’ 13 3-point baskets, three off the building record by a visiting team despite needing none in the final 7:40.
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Delaware (12-13 overall, 4-8 CAA), which has lost six of its last eight and hosts rival Drexel Wednesday night, was just 3-for-17 on 3-pointers.
Charleston (22-3, 10-2) had won its first nine league games before losing to Hofstra at home last Saturday and at Drexel Thursday. The Cougars, who arrived averaging 79.6 points and 9.9 3-pointers per game, led just 38-36 at the half Saturday.
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But a 13-2 start to the second half sent them on their way as Delaware didn’t have the depth, defense or firepower to thwart the visitors.
Jyare Davis and Jameer Nelson Jr. each scored 18 points and freshman Cavan Reilly had 10 for Delaware, which played without starting guard L.J. Owens (wrist). Davis and Christian Ray each had nine rebounds and Nelson dealt eight assists.
“We’ve struggled to score well enough to kinda withstand some of this,” Ingelsby said. “I think a lot falls on Jameer and Jyare’s shoulders to score and we need some other guys and I gotta go back to the drawing board and try to help us. Who are we right now offensively because at times we’re doing enough on the defensive end but we’re not putting the ball in the hoop.
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