Delaware

St. John’s uses balanced attack to rip Delaware for sixth straight win

Published

1 year ago

December 29, 2024

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St. John’s uses balanced attack to rip Delaware for sixth straight win

St. John’s nonconference finale was representative of the entire slate.

Good, not great.

There were no bad losses, but no big wins.

The Johnnies held serve.

They didn’t suffer setbacks to the likes of Boston College or Michigan, losses that came back to bite them last March. But losses to projected tournament teams Baylor and Georgia by a combined four points were frustrating nonetheless, leaving the Johnnies without a signature victory.

St. John’s (11-2) will still enter the New Year in good position, expected to make the main draw of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. Behind 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists from Deivon Smith, St. John’s closed out the soft position of its schedule with a 97-76 thumping of Delaware of the CAA at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday night.

“I think we did our job,” coach Rick Pitino said, referring to the completed nonconference schedule.

St. John’s led by 23 points late in the first half and was on cruise control from there.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS

The Red Storm defense coasted after halftime, allowing the Blue Hens (7-6) to shoot 58.1 from the field after the break.

Additionally, the Johnnies couldn’t contain sharpshooter John Camden, who scored 35 points and made nine 3-pointers.

“Obviously, any time you win you should be pleased, but to be honest with you, I’m anything but pleased,” Pitino said. “I think sometimes when you’re getting ready for your next opponent being Creighton, you [aren’t] as focused.”

It was a strong offensive performance. Six Johnnies scored in double figures.

They had 23 assists on 39 made field goals and after going just 6-for-28 on 3-point attempts in their first two Big East games, they were 8-for-12 from deep on Saturday.

Zuby Ejiofor owned the paint, with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and RJ Luis added 16 off the bench. Simeon Wilcher scored 12 and Kadary Richmond followed with 10 points and seven assists.

“We need both halves, honestly, because teams are super talented [in the Big East],” Smith said. “We need to put together two halves, stop the 3-ball, take our matchups seriously, pay attention to the scouts and get it all together so we can win a championship.”

The schedule gets much tougher from here, a New Year’s Eve date in Omaha, Neb., with perennial contender Creighton. That’s followed by Butler coming to Queens four days later and a visit to Xavier on Jan. 7.

Pitino didn’t give his players a ton of time off after their victory over Providence eight days ago. They were back on campus on Christmas Eve for practice and individual player development sessions.

Coincidentally or not, St. John’s started this guarantee game far better than its recent ones. Instead of toying with an overmatched opponent, the Johnnies flexed their muscles.

They were sharp on the defensive end and quickly built a double-digit lead. The 3-pointers were dropping early: They made their first four attempts and led by as many as 23 in a one-sided opening half.

The effort wasn’t there for the final 20 minutes. It didn’t need to be to get past Delaware.

But St. John’s knows that playing two halves will be critical to having the kind of league season that is expected.

“I don’t think we’re near our potential, which is a good thing, not a bad thing,” Pitino said. “But I think we have to get better defensively. It’s just guys understanding personnel. If I had to point out our biggest weakness — obviously free throw shooting is glaring — but I think our biggest weakness is absorbing the scouting report. … We’re struggling with that a little bit.”

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Delaware

Delaware gas prices soar nearly 50 cents per gallon in a month: AAA

Published

10 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Delaware gas prices soar nearly 50 cents per gallon in a month: AAA

A conflict on the other side of the world is hitting your wallet in Delaware.

Prices for gasoline have soared since the start of a war involving the U.S., Israel and Iran that began on Feb. 28. The national average gas price is $3.45 per gallon for regular, according to automotive, travel and insurance company AAA. It was $2.89 per gallon one month ago.

Delaware’s average price is lower than the national average at $3.36 per gallon, a steep hike from $2.88 per gallon a month ago, according to AAA data.

Delaware is small so average prices for regular gasoline are pretty stable from county to county. Sussex and Kent Counties sit at $3.37 per gallon and New Castle County is at $3.35 per gallon.

The current average prices per gallon, according to AAA, are:

Regular: $3.365, up from $2.886 one month ago
Mid-Grade: $3.916, up from $3.487 one month ago
Premium: $4.191, up from $3.785 one month ago
Diesel: $4.545, up from $3.856 one month ago

In a March 5 press release, AAA said there is usually a jump in prices in the spring, but the last time prices rose this sharply was in March 2022 when the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out.

Shane Brennan covers Wilmington and other Delaware issues. Reach out with ideas, tips or feedback at slbrennan@delawareonline.com.

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Delaware

Delaware hoops loss worst in decades but Ingelsby has faith in future

Published

1 day ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Delaware hoops loss worst in decades but Ingelsby has faith in future

Historical calamities notwithstanding, what occurred inside the Carpenter Center in the early afternoon of March 7 should not be the total measure of the Blue Hens.

Certainly, an unsightly 81-38 basketball loss to Louisiana Tech was in some ways emblematic of Delaware’s 2025-26 basketball season, during which it endured unprecedented misfortune.

But the Blue Hens also frequently rose above their hardships, and even periodically excelled despite them.

First-year Conference USA member Delaware needed to win its game against Louisiana Tech, plus have Florida International and New Mexico State lose theirs later to make the CUSA Tournament, which includes just the top 10 of the 12 league schools.

As that final score hints, it turned into a failure of epic proportion for Delaware, which finishes the season in last place.

The 38 points Delaware scored were its fewest in a game in more than 61 years, since a 77-34 setback against Penn at the Palestra Dec. 9, 1964.

Delaware had scored fewer than 40 points just twice since, in a 46-39 defeat at Rider Feb. 19, 1983, and a 60-39 loss at VCU Jan. 16, 2008.

Ingelsby determined to improve situation

The Blue Hens played their fifth straight game with just six of the 13 scholarship players with whom they began the season, including two freshmen. They’d played the nine games before that with seven.

It caught up with them.

So they’re stuck with their 10-21 record, making these Delaware’s first back-to-back 20-loss seasons since it went 10-20 in 2014-15 and 7-23 in 2015-16 under former coach Monte Ross and 13-20 in Martin Ingelsby’s first UD season in 2016-17.

But the final showing was not representative of who’d they recently been. Delaware was coming off an 83-80 victory over Sam Houston State, which will be the league tournament’s second seed.

They’d also won four of eight before Saturday, which followed a near home upset of regular-season champion Liberty and included an excruciating overtime home loss to Western Kentucky in which the Hens trailed only in the opening seconds of the game and the final moments of OT.

“We’ve dealt with a lot this year,” Ingelsby said. “Obviously, the injuries, adversity, clarity on our roster.

“I’m a competitive dude. So it doesn’t sit well with me. You’re not happy with how overall this season went, obviously going into the league and trying to figure it out.”

Critical offseason looms

In the end, too many players playing too many minutes was part of those struggles. Christian Bliss was first nationally, Justyn Fernandez was fifth and Macon Emory eighth in minutes per game entering Saturday

But those three, in particular, showed how good they are, which is why Delaware won as much as it did. Same with Tyler Houser, though the knee injury he sustained in that WKU game could sideline him all next year.

So Delaware has several very good players. It just needs to retain those it has, such as the aforementioned group, and get more.

That is, of course, easier said than done. But it will be up to Ingelsby, whose contract extends through the 2028-29 season, and his staff to ensure it does, when the transfer portal opens after the Final Four.

“I’m optimistic,” Ingelsby said. “I think we were damn close this year with being dealt a tough hand with all the injuries. We put a good team together but never got a sense to see that team kind of play and grow and learn through the ups and downs of the season.

“But I’m confident that the right players, the right coaching staff, the right support, which we’re getting, that we can be very good in this league.”

“I’ll thank them forever”

Houston Emory, feted in Senior Day ceremonies Saturday, is the only one of Delaware’s remaining 12 scholarship players after Nnanna Njoku’s departure who has completed his eligibility. What a modern-day oddity he is, having spent his entire career at one school.

Delaware has signed one incoming freshman, Jafet Valencia, a 6-7, 200-pound guard from Leesburg, Virginia, and Evergreen Christian School. Ingelsby said he’ll likely be the only one.

“Today was not a semblance of what this team was able to do and how they competed for Delaware men’s basketball,” Ingelsby said, “the University of Delaware, with as tough of a hand as I’ve experienced in my 20-plus years in college basketball.

“We got six scholarship guys out there, two freshmen. Those guys that were there every day, I’ll thank them forever for everything that they gave this program.”

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

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Delaware

What is Delaware’s state dog? It’s not a particular breed

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

What is Delaware’s state dog? It’s not a particular breed

Delaware has a several items that represent the state.

The First State has a state bird (Blue Hen chicken), a state flower (peach blossom), a state fish (weakfish) and a state dessert (peach pie). Delaware even has a state bug (ladybug), state wildlife (gray fox) and state butterfly (tiger swallowtail).

While all the symbols have their place, few tug at the heartstrings like the state dog.

What is Delaware’s state dog?

The state dog of Delaware is the rescue dog, which replaced the golden retriever in 2023.

Then-Gov. John Carney signed Senate Bill 37 into law in May 2023 to make the change. The designation was made to help bring attention to rescue animals in the hope of getting them adopted.

“That just elevates all animals in shelters,” Sara Smith, a Brandywine Valley SPCA spokesperson, said during an adoption event in 2024.