DOVER, Del. (November 14, 2009) --- Freshman Alibaba Odd scored 15 points in his Hornet debut, while redshirt senior Frisco Sandidge poured in 16 points to lead Delaware State to a 67-57 win over Holy Family on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Memorial Hall.
"I thought that was a good, clean ballgame," said Head Coach Greg Jackson. "We changed up our defense in the second half and tried to get them off-balance and to try and get some easy buckets. They're a very good basketball team that's well coached. I thought our intensity level the first five minutes of the second half and our changed defense was a difference."
The Hornets (1-0) shot 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the floor and 5-of-15 from beyond the arc on the night. Sandidge led all DSU players in scoring on 7-of-11 shooting, while grabbing five rebounds. Odd shot 5-of-6 from the floor and was 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Marcus Neal scored 11 points, including a game-high three 3-pointers.
The Tigers were led by Justin Swidowski, who shot 10-of-12 for a game-high 20 points. He was the only Holy Cross player in double-digit scoring. Holy Family finished the night shooting 52.2 percent from the floor (24-of-46).
"We tried to change up our defense a lot, and he's a player that can play on any level," said Jackson. "He did a good job in the beginning getting open looks, so we had to adjust our defense in the second half to try and take him out of his comfort zone."
DSU forced 20 turnovers which led to 17 Hornet points. Jay Threatt led all DSU players with three steal. Delaware State got 25 points from its bench as six first-time Hornets took the court.
Each team recorded 32 rebounds in the contest. Sandidge and Greg Smith led the Hornets with five rebounds. Four players, including Swidowski finished with a team-high five boards.
The Hornets shot 61.5 percent from the free-throw line, led by Odd's four conversions from the charity stripe.
Delaware State held a 32-30 advantage in the first half, shooting 40.6 percent from the field. Holy Family kept the game close shooting 13-of-25 (52.0 percent) in the opening half.
Swidowski led all scorers with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first half. Delaware State was led by Sandidge, who converted 5-fo-8 shooting in the first 20 minutes.
Delaware State will host the Wilmington Wildcats on Monday, Nov. 16. Tip off is 7:30 p.m.
Holy Family begins the 2009-10 season versus St. Anselm on Sunday, Nov. 15. Game time is 2:00 p.m.
