The Delaware Stat Hornets host the Wilmington Wildcats on Monday, Nov. 16 in the team's second home game of the 2009-10 season. The Hornets (1-0) are hosting the Wildcats for the second time in as many years and are looking for their fourth-straight win over Wilmington. DSU downed the Wildcats 71-59 to start the season last year. Marcus Neal led all Hornets with 12 points and Frisco Sandidge recorded 11 rebounds and four assists to give DSU its third-straight, season-opening win.
The Hornets (1-0) are coming off a 67-57 win over Holy Family last Saturday. Freshman Alibaba Odd scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting in his Delaware State debut. Sandidge led all DSU players with 16 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field. Two Hornets (Sandidge and Greg Smith) led the team with five rebounds.
The Hornets come into Monday's game shooting 43.5 percent from the floor (27-of-62) and 33.3 percent from 3-point land (5-of-15). DSU is averaging 32.0 rebounds-per-game and 9.0 assists-per-game. Delaware State holds a +10.0 in scoring and turnover margins. Defensively, the Hornets' opposition is shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and 27.8 from beyond the arc. DSU forced 20 turnovers last game resulting in 17 points.
Delaware State's leading scorer heading into Monday's game is Sandidge (16.0 points-per-game). The Lynchburg, Va., native is shooting 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the floor. Odd is second on the team, averaging 15.0 points-per-game on 83.3 percent shooting from the field. The Philadelphia, Pa., product converted 4-of-5 attempts from the free-throw line on Saturday en route to a 15-point night. Neal is averaging 11.0 points-per-game and 4.0 rebounds-per-game. The Trenton, N.J., native drained a game-high three 3-pointers versus Holy Family.
Six newcomers, including Odd saw action last game. Amir Bell scored eight points, shooting 4-of-8 from the field. The Los Angeles, Calif., native played 27 minutes versus the Tigers, grabbing three rebounds. Jay Threatt made his first-career start, registering two assists and three steals.
Head Coach Greg Jackson is looking to improve to 2-0 on the season with a win over the Wildcats. During his time at Delaware State, Jackson has started 2-0 one other time (2-0 to start the 2007-08 season).
Last Time Out for the Hornets
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.
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).
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.
.
A Look at Wilmington
Wilmington is led by senior forward Antonio Sherrod (Glen Burnie HS/Glen Burnie, MD), a third-team All-CACC selection last season. He led the Wildcats in scoring (17.1 points), rebounding (6.9) and free throw percentage (.787). Sherrod was second on the team in steals (34), ranked fifth in the conference in scoring, and seventh in both rebounding and free throw percentage. Other returning starters include senior Blake Rubinstein (Hatboro-Horsham HS/Ambler, PA), who led the team in three point shots last year; senior center Allen Hairston (Piscataway HS/Plainfield, NJ), who was second in the CACC in blocks; and sophomore forward Brandon Savage (Cardinal Dougherty HS/Philadelphia, PA), who led the team by shooting 60 percent from the floor.
Senior Mike Shipman (Middletown HS/Bronx, NY) returns to takes over the point guard position and classmate Vernon Dupree (Concord HS/Wilmington, DE) is new to the Wildcats and will help with the scoring load. This season, the team will also benefit from the senior leadership of forward Courtney Hines (Howard HS/Wilmington, DE), center J'son Sanders (Salem HS/Virginia Beach, VA), forward Michael Myers (Easton Area HS/Easton, PA), guard Terrance Gibson (BCIT-Westhampton HS/Willingboro, NJ) and forward Jamar McCray (New Castle Baptist/New Castle, DE).
Freshmen Isiah Mason (Cardinal Dougherty HS/Philadelphia, PA) and Eric Selby (HowardHS/Claymont, DE) solidify the point guard position. Newcomers Elijah Daniels (Upper Darby HS/Upper Darby, PA), Marcus Gomes (Westwood HS/Brooklyn, NY) and Andrew Corrigan (Hodgson Vo-Tech HS/Newark, DE) help with the long range shooting, while sophomore Mike Sammons (Dickinson HS/Wilmington, DE) provides depth in the paint.
The Last Meeting
The Delaware State men's basketball team used balanced scoring and dominant rebounding to defeat scrappy Wilmington (Del.) University 71-59 in the Hornets' season opener in Memorial Hall Friday evening.
Six DSU players scored at least eight points, led by Marcus Neal's 12. Trevor Welcher, Kris Douse and Fred Bouie tallied nine points each, while Darrian David and Arturo DuBois added 8 apiece. DuBois, a transfer from Manhattan College in New York, also recorded 10 rebounds and a game-high five blocks in his first game with the Hornets. Delaware State's Frisco Sandidge led all players with 11 rebounds and four assists.
The Hornets held a 55-35 rebounding edge.
Antonio Sherrod led three Wilmington players in double figures with 18 points. He also led the team with nine rebounds. Kevin Cooper had 14 points, while Dominique Barron added 11 for the Wildcats.
The Hornets were 27-for-60 from the field (45.0 percent), but just one-for-nine from behind the expanded three-point line. Wilmington hit 20 of 64 shots (31.3 percent), including 4-of-14 from beyond the arc.
Home Openers
With the Hornets' 67-57 win to start the season, DSU improved to 5-5 in season-opening games and 5-0 in home openers to the start the year under Greg Jackson.
2-0 Start
The Hornets are looking to improve to 2-0 with a win over Wilmington. The 2-0 start would be only the third such start under Head Coach Greg Jackson (2001-02 & 2007-08).
New Look Hornets
This year's version of the Delaware State is made up 17 players including nine newcomers. Of those nine newcomers, six of them saw action in the Hornets season opener versus Holy Family (11/14). Leading the was was Alibaba Odd, who scored 15 points in 16 minutes of action. Amir Bell poured in eight points in 27 minutes of action.
