The excitement was definitely in the air at the Bob Carpenter Center  in Newark, DE on Saturday Night when the Delaware 87ers opened up their season vs the West Chester Knicks  with 121- 108 win.

In the first quarter the Sevens came out strong with hitting 5 for 9 shots in the paint and a 57 % FG average compared to the Knicks 31 %.  Center Shawn Long had 9 points in the first quarter for the Sevens helping them get a 7 point advantage in the first.

The Sevens would open up the 2nd quarter with their biggest lead of the night by 15, thanks to a 8-0 run. Westerchester was not going away quietly  though and they had their own run which was 12-0 to make the score 37-34. Delaware was able to keep the lead going into halftime with a 58-52 score. Long lead the 87ers with 13 points at the half.

Then the second half belonged to Dionte Christmas who heated up to score 16 points of his 27 points in the 3rd quarter alone.  With the strong play from Christmas and Long Delaware was up as much as 11 in the third and never let the lead go.

In the 4th quarter the Sevens with a cruising Christmas would finish out the  game strong and get their first win of the season at home.

Next game is at Sioux Falls where the Sevens will take on Skyforce on Friday, November 18th at 8 pm ET.

Game Attendance: 2293

Player stats: 

Stats:

FG%

Sevens: 52%

Knicks :40%

3 Point %

Sevens: 48 %

Knicks: 31%

Free Throw %

Sevens:  63%

Knicks: 84%

Rebounds

Sevens: 50

Knicks: 38

Assists

Sevens: 24

Knicks: 17

Steals

Sevens:  7

Knicks: 11

 Turnovers

Sevens: 17

Knicks: 12

Blocked Shots

Sevens: 4

Knicks: 1