The Delaware Blue Coats (4-3) took down the Long Island Nets (4-3) 119-104 on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at Chase Fieldhouse. The win marks the Coats’ first time winning consecutive games this season.
“The message is that we want to keep getting better each day,” Head Coach Mike Longabardi said. “We’re going to be playing these teams that are ahead of us, and if we take care of business, then hopefully we can continue to move up the rankings.”
The game was close throughout; at halftime, Long Island led Delaware by three, and heading into the fourth quarter, Delaware led by five. The Coats turned up the heat in the final frame though, bursting out to a 14-0 run to begin the period and extend their lead to 19; one that the Nets never gained any traction on.
“Give a lot of credit to our bench,” Longabardi said. “Aminu [Mohammed] was fantastic, Pat [McCaw] was fantastic. I thought they gave us a huge lift defensively, they had 19 points in that third quarter. I thought that was the difference in the game.”
Defensively, the Coats forced 13 turnovers and allowed just four second-chance points. A big reason for that was Delaware winning the battle on the glass 48-44 after plenty of missed shots from long range, as Long Island shot just 23.3% from three in the game.
Aminu Mohammed was content with the team’s defensive effort, especially in the second half.
“Our defensive performance was really good in the second half,” Mohammed said. “In the first half, we let them have their way, they scored too many points. As a team, we have a rule of trying to keep a team under 30 points in each quarter. That’s the goal… Any night we do that, we become better.”
On the offensive end, Ricky Council IV stole the show. The 22-year-old scored a game-high 32 points on 14-20 shooting from the field, and on multiple occasions, garnered loud gasps from the crowd while putting his elite athletic ability on full display during jaw-dropping dunks.
The 32 points were his season high, but certainly wasn’t the first time that Council IV has flashed his potential this season. Longabardi has recognized that, and couldn’t be more proud of the rookie.
“Ricky puts a lot of time in,” Longabardi said. “Any time guys put in the work and they do well, that’s always fulfilling, especially for him. I’m happy for him.”
The rest of the offense was fairly balanced, particularly in the starting lineup, as David Duke Jr. and Javonte Smart scored 23 points each and Melvin Frazier Jr. added 17 points. Off the bench, Terquavion Smith was the spark plug he’s been all season, scoring 16 points.
It’s been evident so far this season that the Coats’ offense has explosiveness, and Wednesday’s performance hammered that narrative home. Mohammed was a fan of how the offense operated against the Nets but noted that the team still knows there’s things that need to be cleaned up.
“Guys are making better decisions; I think that’s huge, making the right plays, the easy plays,” Mohammed said. “Just playing as a team and moving the ball are some of the most important things. We’re still trying to get better, we just started. The more games we get under our belt, the more we find ourselves as a team, the better we’re gonna become as a team.”
Up next for the Blue Coats is a matchup with the Greensboro Swarm on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Chase Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.
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