The Blue Hens’ Chivarsky Corbett hit five three-pointers against DelState on Friday. (Delaware sports information/Mark Campbell)
NEWARK — Keith Walker was watching Chivarsky Corbett shoot threes before Friday night’s game.
The Delaware State coach was impressed with what he saw from the 6-foot-7 left-hander,
“He’s a guy that can really stroke it,” said Walker. “You’ve got to respect that. … I told them, ‘We probably need to watch out for No. 1.’”
But knowing about Corbett and stopping him were two different things on Friday as the lanky sophomore buried a career-high five three-pointers and scored a game-high 16 points in the Blue Hens’ 64-49 victory over the instate rival Hornets in men’s basketball at the Carpenter Center.
The home team had lost five straight games in the series. But Delaware (5-3) changed that by limiting DSU (2-6) to just 21 second-half points.
There were four ties and four lead changes in the contest. The Hens, though, took the lead for good at 42-39 when freshman Ryan Daly and Corbett swished back-to-back threes with 13:17 remaining in the contest.
Delaware’s Ryan Daly looks to make a pass against the Hornets. (Delaware sports information/Mark Campbell)
After missing most of last season with a knee injury, Corbett said he’s still not back to 100 percent yet. But his outside shooting gives a big lift to a Delaware team that is going to struggle to score points at times.
“I was feeling pretty good,” said Corbett. “I put in time every day. I’m starting to get into my right spots. My teammates are finding me and I’m knocking down my shots.”
“He was excited to play against zone,” said first-year Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby. “I think he’s a guy that’s finding his rythym on the offensive end in this system.
“I’ve been really impressed with his ability to make shots. He does it in practice every day. … I want him to kind of be more of a three-pointer shooter for us. He’s learning to do that.”
The Hornets were coming off their big 79-72 upset of St. John’s on Tuesday night. They did it, in part, by sinking 8-of-15 three-point shots in the game.
DelState took 15 three-pointers again on Friday but this time made only one of them. The Hornets ended up scoring just 13 points in the final 16 minutes, making only five of their final 17 shots from the floor.
“We didn’t show a lot poise tonight,” said Walker. “But Delaware’s team had a lot to do with that. We didn’t shoot the ball very well at all. They had a lot to do with that.”
DeAndre Haywood led the Hornets with 15 points while sophomore DeVaughn Mallory (Polytech) added 10. Delaware also finished with a considerable 46-26 edge in rebounds.
Anthony Mosley had 13 points for the Hens with Eric Carter, who was also sidelined last season with a knee injury, added seven points and 10 rebounds.
“What we worked on probably the most in the last couple days was getting back to our identity on the defensive end,” said Ingelsby. “When this group can lock in and defend, we’ve got a chance every night.”
After winning just seven games last season and losing its top two players, there wasn’t much expected from Delaware this winter. And two of the Hens’ five victories have come against lower-division programs.
Still, the players say they believe in what they’re doing.
“As a group, we know we can be really good,” said Mosley, the former standout at Dover’s Central Middle School. “We’re just going to continue to prove people wrong. I really like the chemistry and I really like the rescliency of our group.
“We have a group that, no matter what, we’re going to fight. We’re not going to let the other team play harder than us and that’s going to take us a long way, I feel like.”
Free throws
Delaware leads the all-time series with DSU, 13-4. … Besides Corbett, the rest of the Hens were 1-of-12 on three-pointers. … Delaware State was fying out to Texas early this morning. The Hornets play at SMU on Sunday and at North Texas on Dec. 8. … DelState is in the middle of a stretch in which it plays 14 of 15 games on the road. … Delaware doesn’t play again until Dec. 11 when it goes to Yale.