Dover, Del. (Nov. 17, 2015) --- Delaware State was outscored 9-2 in the last 2:42 of the game in a 60-54 loss to Penn in Memorial Hall this evening. The Hornets fell to 0-2, while the Quakers improved to 3-0 this season.
Center Darien Nelson-Henry led three Penn players in double figures with 16 points on eight-of-11 shooting from the field. Antonio Woods added 11 and Sam Jones 10 for the Quakers. Jones averaged 22 points in Penn's first two games, but hit just four-of-12 shots from the field, including two-of-10 from three-point territory, in the contest.
DeAndre Haywood came off the bench to lead Delaware State with 13 points. He was six-for-12 from the field and finished second on the team with five rebounds.
Freshman guard Devin Morgan added 12 points and a team-high four assists for the Hornets. Newcomer Joe Lewis led DSU with eight rebounds.
The score was 26-26 at the break.
Penn started quickly in the second half, outscoring the Hornets 11-2 in the early going to open up its biggest lead of the game. Max Rothschild hit a lay-up off a dish from Jones to give the Quakers a 37-28 advantage with 14:34 left to play.
The Hornets chipped away at the deficit over the next seven minutes, and tied the game at 43-43 on a three-pointer by Dana Raysor at the 7:31 mark of the second half.
The Quakers led 51-49 when Delaware State took its only lead of the second half, 52-51, on a three-point play by Morgan with 2:42 remaining in the game.
On the ensuing Penn possession, Matt Howard hit a lay-up off a feed from Nelson-Henry to give the lead back to the Quakers.
Nelson-Henry and Howard each hit lay-ups in the in the next minute to give the Quakers a 57-52 lead with 41 seconds left to play. Howard had eight points and a game-high nine rebounds for the visitors.
Penn hit three-of-four free throws in the final 26 seconds to seal the win.
“Once again, we were unable to execute as well down the stretch against a more experienced team,” said Delaware State head coach Keith Walker. “We did some good things early in the game and I'm proud of the way we fought back after falling behind in the second half. Our defensive effort was also outstanding at times in the game.”
The Hornets were the better team to start the game, scoring the first eight points and opening up a 14-5 advantage on a jumper by Haywood at the 11 minute mark of the first half.
Penn responded with a 13-2 run to pull ahead 18-16.
Delaware State was 21-for-61 from the field (34.4%) in the game, including five-of-17 on three-point shots (29.4%). Penn connected on 22 of its 54 shots (40.7%), but just three-of-23 from beyond the arc (13.0%).
The Quakers won the rebound battle 41-35.
Each team protected the ball pretty for an early season game. Delaware State had just nine turnovers to 10 for Pennsylvania.
The Hornets will play their first road game of the season on Thursday at Nebraska. Game time is 8 p.m. Eastern in Lincoln, Neb.
DSU will return home on Saturday (Nov. 21) to face first-time opponent Lamar University. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Memorial Hall.
