TOWSON, Md. - Freshman guard Devon Saddler drilled a three-point basket as the final buzzer sounded, lifting the University of Delaware (8-8, 3-3) to a thrilling 66-63 Colonial Athletic Association victory over the Tigers (4-12, 0-6) at the Towson Center on Saturday afternoon.
Saddler's clutch basket enabled the Blue Hens to erase a nine-point deficit in the final 6:34 as they ended a 23-game CAA losing streak on the road. It was Delaware's first CAA road victory since a 51-48 win at Georgia State on February 13, 2008.
After Towson extended its lead to 57-48 on a pair of free throws by sophomore Isaiah Philmore with 6:34 remaining, Saddler started the Blue Hens' comeback with a traditional three-point play to cut the lead to 57-51 with 6:25 remaining. Saddler's 15-foot jumper with 5:50 remaining made it a 57-53 deficit.
With 2:16 remaining and the Blue Hens trailing by 61-58, senior guard Jawan Carter tied the game for Delaware. He made a steal at the other end of the floor and made a three-point basket on a fast break to tie the game at 61-61. It was the first time that the game was tied since the opening two minutes of the second half.
With 1:40 left, junior guard RaShawn Polk of Towson was fouled. He gave the Tigers a 63-61 lead by hitting both free throws.
However, Carter responded with a driving layup just 15 seconds later to tie the game at 63-63.
With 35 seconds left, junior Braxton Dupree missed a short jumper in traffic but the Tigers retained possession when the ball went out of bounds with eight seconds left on the shot clock. Polk's three-pointer with 31 seconds remaining went in-and-out and the Blue Hens got the rebound.
After nearly losing the ball near midcourt, Carter dribbled to his right and passed to Saddler, who launched his three-pointer with one second to spare. After the buzzer sounded, the ball went through the net and gave Delaware the dramatic come-from-behind win.
In addition to ending its 23-game CAA road losing streak, the Blue Hens also ended a five-game losing streak to Towson. The Tigers had beaten Delaware in seven of their last eight meetings.
After falling behind by 32-28 in the opening minutes of the second half, the Tigers went on a 10-0 run and took a 38-32 lead on back-to-back three-pointers by Polk and senior guard Josh Brown.
Led by Dupree, who scored 13 second half points, the Tigers maintained their lead until the final minutes when Delaware came from behind to win.
"This was a tough one for the kids," said Towson Coach Pat Kennedy. "We had just five turnovers and we outrebounded them. We have four guys score in double digits. So, all the things you want within the framework were in place for us.
"A few shots here or there down the stretch and obviously, we put the game away and it's not a last possession game," he added. "Our guys have got to understand that. We've got to play an almost perfect game due to our lack of quality depth."
Sophomore guard Kelvin McNeil capped off an exciting first half by throwing in a 79-foot shot at the buzzer to give Delaware a 30-28 lead at intermission. After freshman guard Dre Connor drove the baseline and missed a layup, McNeil grabbed the rebound and fired his improbable three-point from the opposing foul line. He released the shot with one-tenth of a second remaining as the Blue Hens went ahead on the tenth lead change of the first half.
The Tigers led for most of the first half and had a five-point advantage midway through the period. In the first half, the Tigers took advantage of ten turnovers by Delaware, outscoring the Blue Hens by 12-2 off turnovers. While McNeil led Delaware with seven first half points, Brown had eight points and two assists for Towson.
The fourth-leading scorer in the CAA, Carter scored a team high 19 points. In addition to making five of eight shots from the floor, he shot four-for-five from three-point range. He also had six rebounds and two steals.
Saddler, who scored 11 points in the final 6:25, was Delaware's second-leading scorer with 13 points. He shot four-for-seven from the floor and made four of five free throws.
The Blue Hens shot 52.4 per cent from the floor in the game and made 9 of 15 shots from three-point range.
Dupree led the Tigers with 19 points and 11 rebounds as he recorded his sixth "double double" of the season. Brown added 15 points while Philmore scored 11 points with seven rebounds.
The Tigers return to action on Wednesday night when they host William & Mary at 7:00 p.m.
