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Delaware vs. Charleston Southern
First Round - College of Charleston Tournament
December 21, 1998

Delaware 58, Charleston Southern 46


CHARLESTON, SC -- The University of Delaware men's basketball team overcame a sluggish start with a smothering second half defense that led the Blue Hens to a 58-46 win over Charleston Southern in the first round of the College of Charleston Classic Monday night at Kresse Arena.

The Blue Hens, whose 8-0 record establishes an America East Conference record for best start, will play the winner of Monday's College of Charleston vs. Stonybrook game Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Mike Pegues, the nation's No. 2 leading scorer at 26 points per game, was plagued by early foul trouble but still managed a game-high 14 points for Delaware. Kestutis Marciulionis came off the bench to add 13 points while John Gordon had 10 points and seven assists and John Bennett matched a career-high with 12 rebounds. Charleston Southern got 13 points and 12 rebounds from forward O.J. Linney.

Charleston Southern (3-6), which had a two-game win streak snapped, scored 9 of the first 11 points of the game on the way to a 28-22 halftime lead. But the Hens used a 13-2 run in the second half to to take a 39-32 lead. After the Buccaneers came back to tie the game at 39-39, the Hens took off and cruised to the win.

Delaware held Charleston Southern to just 33 percent shooting from the field for the game (19 of 57) and just 25 percent shooting (8 of 32) in the second half. The 46 points were the least allowed by the Blue Hens vs. a Division I foe since a 59-39 win over Colgate Dec. 27, 1985. The Buccaneers scored just 18 second half points.

"The first half was ugly and I'm sure a 12-day layoff had a lot to do with that," said Delaware head coach Mike Brey, whose team's last outing was a 92-78 win over Lafayette Dec. 12. "And we bring out the best in some teams. This was a great test for our team to win a game like this without having Mike (Pegues) most of the game. We really showed poise and our second half defense was outstanding."