DOVER (January 10, 2009) ? Shooting 35.6 percent for the game and trailing by as many as 23 points, the Delaware State Men's Basketball Team (2-14, 1-1 MEAC) fell to the South Carolina State Bulldogs (6-6, 1-0 MEAC), 69-52, at Memorial Hall on Saturday, January 10.
"I thought South Carolina State came into this game with a great game plan," said Head Coach Greg Jackson. "We got out-played, out-coached and they did the things necessary to win the ball game, on both ends of the floor When they ran the ball in transition, they got great transition buckets. When they needed to run the half-court offense, they ran the half-court offense very effectively. We just don't have enough players right now that understand what it takes to win ball games. We have not executed the philosophy of our system and if we don't do that, it is going to be a very long year for us. "
Three players scored in double-digits for the Hornets. Senior Donald Johnson led all Delaware State players with 11 points, connecting on 4-of-10 from the floor (3-of-7 from long range). Junior Marcus Neal tallied 10 points, shooting 4-of-9 from the floor (2-of-5 from beyond the 3-point line). Forward Frisco Sandidge also registered 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Sandidge and Kris Douse each registered a team-high four boards versus the Bulldogs.
SCSU was led by Jimmy Williams, who shot 5-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-6 from "downtown" for a game-high 15 points. Three other Bulldogs scored in double figures. Jason Johnson tallied 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while grabbing seven rebounds. Jason Flagler poured in 12 points and recorded six rebounds. Rounding out the Bulldogs' leading scorers was Carrio Bennett, who registered 10 points and five rebounds.
On the afternoon, South Carolina State held Delaware State to 35.6 percent shooting, including 25.9 percent during the first half. Delaware State was only able to convert 31.6 percent (6-of-19) of its shots from 3-point land, while South Carolina State drained 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from long range. The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Hornets, 37-23, and controlled the paint, out-scoring DSU, 32-18 in the lane.
The Hornets began the contest, scoring the first basket with jumper by Sandidge at the 19:32 mark of the first half. However, SCSU took a 5-2 lead off of a 3-point basket by Williams with 16:32 on the clock. The 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a lead that they never relinquish. South Carolina State took its biggest lead of the half (17 points) following a layup by Flagler with 6:14 left in the first half. Delaware State was able to chip the Bulldog lead to 26-17 with 3:46 on the clock. South Carolina regained its double-digit lead with a Williams 3-pointer at the 2:36 mark. The Hornets headed into halftime, trialing by 14 points, 33-19.
Looking to respond from a poor first half of shooting the Hornets came out ready for the second half. However, a 3-point basket by Williams started things off, giving the Bulldogs a 36-19 lead with 19:25. SCSU lead hovered around the 20-point barrier for much of the second half as the Hornets were unable rebound from the 14-point first-half deficit.
The loss marks the fifth-straight for DSU and drops the Hornets' home record to 2-2 on the season.
Delaware State will host the Winston-Salem State Rams on Monday, Jan. 12. Tip off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
