The Delaware Blue Coats fell short against the College Park Skyhawks on Tuesday night, losing 124-120 despite a late fourth-quarter push.

The Blue Coats came into this game with the team missing key players, like Alex Reese, Jeff Dowtin Jr., Judah Mintz, Jarron Cumberland, and many more. This left the Blue Coats with just eight active players for the game.

Despite being short-handed handed the team thrived in the first quarter, especially on the defensive end. The Coats held the Skyhawks to just 23 points in the quarter, and caused them to shoot just 34.8 percent from the field.

Delaware played a two-three zone for much of the first half. This allowed them to limit penetration in the paint throughout the first half. The Skyhawks were able to get some open threes but were not able to convert on them. 

On the offensive end, the Coats were able to find themselves in the second quarter, scoring a total of 36 points in the quarter. 

Two-way player Jalen Hood-Schifino thrived in the quarter, knocking down open threes early and forcing the Skyhawks’ defense to close out harder. As defenders pressed, he used his speed to blow past them for easy finishes at the rim.

Another player who found success in the quarter and throughout the game was Isaiah Mobley. Mobley returned in this game after being injured. Mobley did a great job at leveraging his size on the offensive, if Mobley got too deep in the paint there was nothing the Skyhawks defenders could do.

Mobley has been struggling with injuries throughout most of the season but has always been able to play well when he is healthy. 

“I am just trusting my work,” Mobley said. “I have been in the lab all season. It has probably been one of the most frustrating seasons I have had with injuries. I am just trying to control what I can control.”

The turning point of the game happened in the third quarter where Delaware’s defense completely cratered. The Skyhawks finally began to knock down the open looks that the zone defense gave them.

“They got hot and we could have been better on our rotations,” Mobley said. “Credit to them, they were making shots. They have shot makers, we gotta know who we are closing out to, gotta focus on the details.”

College Park’s Jacob Toppin fueled the team’s offense, allowing them to finish the quarter by scoring 40 points. This allowed the Skyhawks to flip the game on its head, as a 14-point deficit to start the quarter turned into a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“I think we ran out of gas,” head coach Mike Longabardi said. “We only had eight players. They all played well in the first half. They looked tired at the beginning of the third, I feel like that is what hurt us.”

The Blue Coats made many attempts at a comeback in the final frame but the Skyhawks had answers for them at every point. There were a few points when the game got close. Thierry Darlan hit back to back threes and Mobley hit a layup to get the game within four.

Another point was when the Coats went on an 8-0 run that brought the game within one. The Skyhawks immediately went on a 5-0 run that ended any hope Delaware of getting back into the game.

With this loss, the Blue Coats are officially eliminated from qualifying for the postseason. This is just the second time (Non-COVID season) that the team has not made the playoffs since they switched the team’s name from the 87ers to the Blue Coats.

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