– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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WASHINGTON — Delaware arrived in the nation’s capital this week looking to make history by winning the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, but it was doing so while going up against some ignominious history: no No. 5 seed had ever won the CAA Tournament in its 42-year history, and the Blue Hens came into the tourney carrying that No. 5-seed albatross around their necks.
In a matter of three days, the Blue Hens made the dubious distinction a thing of the past, and their present and immediate future is all about looking its best for the Big Dance in just over a week.
Forward Jyare Davis scored 18 points, including the jumper with a minute left that put his team up for good, as the Blue Hens defeated No. 2 seed UNC Wilmington 59-55 in the championship game of the CAA Tournament at the Entertainment Sports Arena in Washington D.C. on Tuesday. Davis won the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award, while another frontcourt player, Andrew Carr, solidified an All-Tournament nomination with 17 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. Four scorers in total went for at least 10 points as Delaware won its sixth conference tournament title in school history and second in the CAA.
The Blue Hens’ march toward the championship is made all the more impressive by the fact that they defeated the league’s regular season co-champions, Towson and UNCW, to win the trophy. The Tigers and Seahawks went a combined 30-6 in conference play in the regular season, but found Delaware’s stifling defense too much to handle when it came down to a one-and-done scenario.
“I can’t say enough about our team, and our guys’ belief in each other and our program,” Delaware head coach Martin Ingelsby said. “We dug in and guarded against a really good team. To hold three teams in a row in the 50s really says a lot about our defensive effort. Give credit to our guys, they were ready to compete. We had to go through the four, one and two seeds, so we earned this title. It says a lot about our team to get it done on consecutive days against the regular season co-champions.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday’s championship game, with all photos taken by DC-area photographer Yusuf Abdullah. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are eight pictures in total.
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