Winston-Salem, N.C. (Nov. 28, 2014) --- Delaware State recorded one of the biggest wins in school history Friday evening, stunning Wake Forest 72-65 at the Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum this evening. It was the Hornets' first-ever win against an Atlantic Coast Conference team.
Amere May scored a game and DSU-high 32 points to lead the Hornets. May was 10-for-20 from the field, including a career-high six three-point field goals (6-10). He was also six-of-six at the free throw line.
Kendall Gray was two blocks shy of the first triple double in modern school history. Gray had 14 points (six-for-eight FGs), a career-high 16 rebounds and tied the school record for the third time in his career with eight blocks, four in each half. He raised his school-record total to 236 blocks.
Kendall Gray
Gray has double-doubles in three straight names, and 16 in his DSU career.
"This is a tremendous win for our team and our university," said Delaware State head coach Keith Walker. "To defeat an Atlantic Coast Conference team on their home floor after losing our previous game by 50 points two nights ago (Nov. 26 vs. Iona) says a great deal about the character of our young men. I couldn't be more proud of the guys and my staff."
Walker said the Hornets' 126-76 loss at Iona earlier this week served as motivation for his team.
“After the Iona game I told the guys we are not as bad as that score indicated; and they are capable of beating a good team like Wake Forest if they kept their heads up and stuck with the game plan. We got great contributions from everyone who played. Amere May played the way I knew he could when I recruited him several years ago; and Kendall Gray was big on both ends of the court, proving he can compete with centers from the bigger conferences.”
Kendall Williams, starting his first game of the season, added nine points (4-for-8 FGs) and tied for the team lead with three assists.
Two freshmen, Kevon Waller and Todd Hughes, came off the bench to contribute to the win. Waller scored seven points in seven minutes of play. He was two-for-two from the field, including a three-pointer; and two-of-three at the free throw line. Hughes tallied four points on two-of-three-shooting from the field, and grabbed two rebounds, in 12 minutes.
The Hornets started fast, scoring the first five points on a three-pointer by May and a dunk from Gray off a feed from Tyshawn Bell.
DSU opened up a 13-9 lead on May's third three-pointer of the game with 15:14 left in the first half.
Wake Forest answered with a 14-5 run, and opened up a 22-18 lead on a three-point play by Aaron Roundtree at the 11:44 mark of the opening frame.
The Hornets scored the next seven points on a Waller three-pointer and back-to-back baskets by Hughes to take a 25-22 lead.
The Deacons rallied to lead by as many as five points on two occasions later in the half before settling for a 38-36 advantage at the break.
May had five three-pointers and a game-high 19 points at intermission.
Delaware State scored 10 of the first 14 points in the second half, and opened up a 46-42 lead on a steal and lay-up by Williams with 15:58 left to play. May hit his sixth three-pointer of the game during the spurt.
The Hornets stretched their lead to 52-46 when Waller hit a lay-up and free throw with 12:39 remaining.
Delaware State remained in front as the teams traded baskets over the next several minutes.
Gray hit a free throw at the 4:41 mark of the second half to give the Hornets their biggest lead at the time, 61-54.
Wake Forest, keyed by its pressure defense, scored seven of the next nine points to pull to within 63-61 in the last two minutes.
After the Hornets failed to score of their next possession, Wake Forest could have tied the game on its next trip up the floor but Deacon forward Cornelius Hudson missed one of two free throws at the 1:25 mark of the second half.
Delaware State took advantage when Gray was fouled on a lay-up off a feed from May with 1:01 remaining. Gray hit the free throw to give the Hornets a 66-62 lead.
The Deacons hit one-of-two-free throws on their next possession, and the Hornets answered with another three-point play, this time by May, to stretch their lead to 69-63 with 30 seconds left to play.
Waller hit a free throw and May knocked down two in the final 16 seconds to seal the win.
The Hornets led for the last 13-and-a-half minutes of the game.
“We didn't lose our confidence after the Iona game, and the coaches prepared us well for Wake Forest,” said May, whose 32 points were the most by a Hornet since Stephan Malliet tallied 36 during the 1999-200 season. “The key for us now is to keep working hard to get better each game.”
The Hornets outshot Wake Forest in the contest. DSU was 27-for-55 from the field (49.1%), including 8-of-21 from three-point territory (38.1%).
Wake Forest shot 35.6% for the game, hitting 21 of its 59 shots from the floor (35.6%) and four-of-15 from three-point range (26.7%). The Demons were seven-for-26 from the field in the second half (26.9%).
The Hornets held Wake's leading scorer Devin Thomas without a point in the game. Thomas was averaging 13.7 points per game entering the contest.
Delaware State outrebounded Wake 38-31.
DSU snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 3-3 this season. The loss snapped a two-game win streak for the Demon Deacons, who fell to 4-3 under first year head coach Danny Manning, the former Kansas University All-American and NBA standout.
The Hornets will head to the Aloha State for their next contest on Tues. (Dec. 2) against the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors. Game time is 7 p.m. in Hawai'i; 1 a.m. ET (Dec. 3) in Delaware.
STINGERS
May's 32 points were the most by a Hornet player since Stephan Malliet tallied 36 during the 1999-2000 season … He scored 39 and 37 points in a game while playing for Division II St. Augustine's during the 2013-14 season … Gray's previous rebound high was 13 on seven occasions … Gray also had eight blocks against Wagner on Nov. 14, 2012; and vs. North Carolina A&T on Jan. 20, 2014 … Delaware State was 0-19 vs. Atlantic Coast Conference teams before tonight.
