Dover, Del. (Jan. 19, 2015) ---Tyshawn Bell scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to lead Delaware State to a 59-50 MEAC men's basketball win over Savannah State in Memorial Hall this evening.
The Hornets outscored the Tigers 38-21 in the second half after trailing by eight at the break.
The Hornets won their season-high third straight game to improve to 9-9 overall and 3-1 in the MEAC. DSU also matched its win total for the entire 2013-14 season (9-21).
Savannah State lost its fourth straight to fall to 4-14 and 0-4.
Bell had four field goals in the contest, including three from three-point territory (3-for-4). He was also second on the team with five rebounds.
Amere May also scored 16 points to share the Hornets' scoring lead with Bell.
Delaware State's Kendall Gray led all players with 17 rebounds. He also contributed eight points, four blocks and three assists to win, although he fell short of a sixth straight double-double. Gray has 106 rebounds in the last six games (17.7 pg) to raise his season average to 12.9. He was No. 1 among all NCAA Div. I players in rebounding entering the contest.
The Hornets outscored the Tigers 38-21 in the second half after trailing by eight at the break.
Delaware State stormed out of the gate in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 13-4 to start the period. Bell had two three-pointers during the spurt, and May gave the Hornets a 34-33 lead on a three-ball with 14:56 left to play.
After Savannah State regained the lead, 35-34, the Hornet s answered with a 10-0 run to pull ahead for good. Gray started the run with a dunk off a feed from Kendal Williams, who capped off the rally with a three-pointer to give DSU a 44-35 advantage at the 9:55 mark of the second half.
The Hornets opened up 13-point leads on three occasions in the second half, the last time at 56-43 after a short jumper by Gray with 2:49 left to play.
Delaware State was 20-for-45 from the field in the game (44.4%), including seven-of-17 from three-point territory (41.2%). The Hornets were 12-for-15 from the free throw line.
Savannah State shot 36.7% from the field (18-for-49) for the game. The Tigers were just six-of-22 from the floor in the second half (27.3%).
The Hornets won the rebound battle 34-26, although Savannah was better at protecting the ball, committing 13 turnovers compared to 18 for DSU.
Delaware State will be on the road for the next four games, beginning with a visit to North Carolina A&T on Saturday (Jan. 24). Game time is 6 p.m. The road swing also includes visits to North Carolina Central (Jan. 26), South Carolina State (Jan. 31) and NJIT (Feb. 3).
The Hornets return home on Feb. 7 against Bethune-Cookman (4 p.m.)
