STORRS, Conn. (December 1, 2008) ? Senior Donald Johnson scored a game-high 25 points, tying a career-best six 3-point shots as the Delaware State Men's Basketball Team (1-9) fell to the No.2-ranked Connecticut Huskies (7-0), 79-49, at Gampel Pavilion on Monday, December 1.
Johnson stole the show, shooting 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from 3-point land and 9-of-16 (.562) from the floor.
“He (Johnson) shot the ball well for us tonight,” said Head Coach Greg Jackson. “We wanted to get him the ball early. I thought he came out, got some good looks and made some tough shots.”
Johnson scored 16 of his 25 total points in the first half, accounting for all but two points of the team's score heading into halftime. The senior guard played in all 40 minutes of the game and tallied just as many 3-point baskets as the entire UConn team. Johnson also finished the night with five rebounds and one blocked shot. Leading the team in rebounding was Frisco Sandidge, who grabbed nine boards in 23 minutes of action. Sandidge recorded six points on 3-of-11 shooting (27.2 percent) for fouling out. Fred Bouie came off the bench to lead the Hornets with three assists and three steals.
DSU finished the evening shooting 31.3 percent (20-of-64) from the field while attempting a season-high 29 treys. The Hornets were out-rebounded 40-34 by the Huskies despite Delaware State's edge on the offensive boards (15-10).
UConn made 26-of-53 shots (49.1 percent) from the floor and forced DSU to commit 14 turnovers. The Huskies held Delaware State to just 22.6 percent shooting from the field during the first half to take a 44-18 lead after the first 20 minutes.
“They are the No. 2 team in the country,” said Jackson. “And the difference tonight was talent. You can only play on emotion so long before talent takes over. One thing to take away from tonight is that our kids did not quit. Our kids are very resilient. They came out the second half and played UConn pretty evenly. That says a lot about the character of this team.”
The Huskies were led by Gavin Edwards, who notched 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting (77.8 percent). Center Hasheem Thabeet registered a double-double, grabbing 17 rebounds and scoring 10 points. The 7-foot-3 Thabeet also registered four blocked shots. Jeff Adrien (12 points) and Jerome Dyson (15 points) rounded out the double-digit scoring for UConn.
UConn open the contest on a 10-3 run through the first five minutes of action. Delaware State battled back, pulling within three points, 14-11, following a trey by Johnson at the 12:21 mark. The Huskies took advantage of DSU missed shots and turnovers to out-score the Hornets, 30-7, during the remainder of the first half. Delaware State converted just 7-of-31 (22.6 percent) to head into the locker room, trailing by 26 points.
Scoring just 18 points in the first half, DSU hung with the No.2-ranked Huskies, scoring 31 points in the final 20 minutes and out-shooting UConn, 33-20. Delaware State held the Huskies to without a field goal through the first 4:30 of the second half, allowing just four free-throws. The 13-4 run to open the second half cut UConn's lead to 17 points however, the Huskies increased their lead to as many as 33 points as the Hornet's 26-point, first-half deficit was to much to overcome.
The Huskies out-scored DSU 35-31 in the second half to make the score 79-49 and hand Delaware State its ninth-straight loss.
The game wraps up an eight-game road swing which saw the Hornets travel to six different states and lasted over two weeks.
The Hornets head home to face the UMES Hawks in the team's MEAC Conference opener on Thursday, Dec. 4. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
