WINDY CITY LOSES AT DELAWARE, 122-99

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        

2/29/20

The Windy City Bulls, presented by BMO Harris Bank, the official G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, dropped the tail end of a back-to-back on the road to the Delaware Blue Coats, 122-99 on Saturday night.

Both teams shot under .350 from the field in a low-scoring first quarter as the Blue Coats jumped out to an early 18-10 advantage, only to see the Bulls rally back on a 9-0 run to grab the lead 19-18 heading into the second frame.

The offensive output increased for both sides, though Delaware was able to connect more often from long range, knocking down five three-pointers as a team in the second quarter alone and 7-for-17 for the half.

The sharp-shooting from the outside and a 33-22 rebounding advantage helped the Blue Coats outscore the Bulls 34-21 in the second quarter to lead 52-40 at the break.

7’4” Christ Koumadje out of Florida State pulled down 16 of those 33 Delaware rebounds in the first half, while Philadelphia 76ers Two-Way player Marial Shayok led the Blue Coats in scoring with 13 points.

Doing the majority of the scoring for Windy City over the first 24 minutes were Jaron Blossomgame with 13 points and Justin Simon with ten.

The Blue Coats solid offensive effort continued, ending the third quarter shooting .440 from beyond the arc as a team (11-for-25), but Windy City forced seven Delaware turnovers in the third frame to trim the deficit to 10, 82-72 heading into the fourth.

The Bulls have defended well all season long, currently ranking first in the G League in steals per game (11.2), and second in the league in overall Defensive Rating (103.5).

However, the Windy City defense was not enough on this occasion as the Blue Coats took control to score 40 points over the final twelve minutes to close out the win.

Delaware finished the game with a 52-39 rebounding advantage thanks to a career-high 24 rebounds from Koumadje.

The Blue Coats also finished 15-for-32 from three-point range as a team including 4-for-7 from Shayok (25 points) and 5-for-8 from Jared Brownridge (21 points).

Blossomgame recorded another double-double for the Bulls with 26 points to lead all scorers, 11 rebounds and two steals. Simon notched 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Windy City (16-23) will have a few days off before hosting Raptors 905 next Wednesday for an early 11 a.m. tip on Education Day presented by BMO Harris Bank.