Delaware State Hornets Post Impressive Win Over St. John's, 79-72

QUEENS, New York -- Despite traveling nearly 5,700 miles for four games in nine days, the Delaware State men’s basketball team found the energy to stun St. John’s 79-72 in a nationally-televised contest (Fox Sports 2) at Carnesecca Arena this evening. The win marked the Hornets’ first –ever against a Big East team and second vs. a major conference opponent in three seasons, rivaling their 72-65 victory over Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Nov. 26, 2014.

Delaware State (2-5) led for nearly 35 minutes in the contest. The Hornets held a 38-34 lead at the half and outscored the Red Storm 41-38 in the final 20 minutes.

DSU took its biggest lead, 63-48, when Devin Morgan hit a three-pointer with 9:56 left to play.

Morgan led all players with a season-high 26 points on nine-of-13 shooting from the field, including three-of-six on three-point shots.

DeVaughn Mallory added a career-high 16 points for the Hornets. Mallory was eight-for-13 from the floor, and tied for the team lead with six rebounds.

Kavon Waller continued his torrid shooting this season, hitting six-of-nine shots from the field and three-of-six on three-point attempts to contribute 15 points to the win.

Waller raised his overall shooting percentage to .564 (31-55) and a MEAC-best .606 on three-point shots (20-33) to rank in the top 10 among all Division I players. He has reached double figures in scoring in six of the Hornets’ seven games this season.

The Hornets shot 64% in the first half (16-25) and 53.3% in the second (16-30) to post a season-high 58.2% shooting percentage for the game.

Ahmed Bashir led four St. John’s players in double-figures with 19 points.

The Red Storm dropped its fifth straight game to fall to 2-5 this season. Chris Mullen, an All-America at St. John’s and a former NBA star, is in his second season as head coach of the Red Storm.

The Hornets return to action on Friday at state rival Delaware. The First State Rivalry contest begins at 7 p.m. at UD’s Carpenter Center.

Delaware State has won its last two road games against the Hens (2012, 2014).

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