Valentine's Triple-Double Carries Maine To 7-1

WILMINGTON, DE – The Maine Celtics, presented by Unum, led by 20 points for a large portion of the game but were able to stave off a late push from the Delaware Blue Coats, taking the win, 132-123. 

Denzel Valentine led Maine (7-1) with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the triple-double, the 22^nd in Maine franchise history and his third as a Celtic. Two-Way player Mfiondu Kabengele added 17 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks for the double-double. Luka Šamanić had 16 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double in eight games this season. Kamar Baldwin tallied 15 points and five assists while Marvin Smith Jr. notched 15 points and six rebounds. Two-Way player JD Davison chipped in 14 points and three assists. Marial Shayok totaled 12 points, five rebounds and three assists and Scottie Lindsey logged 12 points (4-8 3PT) and three rebounds. 

Mac McClung neared a triple-double with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Delaware (3-5). Patrick McCaw registered 21 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Skylar Mays finished with 20 points and four assists. Justin Smith recorded 18 points and six rebounds and Sekou Doumbouya dropped in 13 points to go with four rebounds. 

Delaware opened the game with five-straight points, which Maine countered with six-straight of their own to take the lead out of the gates. An 11-6 run by the Celtics stretched the lead out further until the Blue Coats offense settled in, finding success working into the paint and creating offense from the middle of the floor. Both teams were not hesitant to let it fly from three early, though neither team was able to shoot with efficiency. Maine led, 31-26 after one. 

Davison’s and-one extended the Celtics lead to double digits, 40-29, early in the second quarter, with Shayok and Reginald Kissoonlal each adding an and-one finish on ensuing possessions as the Celtics offense got into a groove en route to the team’s third-straight 70-point half. Another big dunk from Kissoonlal made it 50-34 in favor of Maine, and Lindsey heated back up after a career-night last time out against Delaware, making two threes in the final minutes of the half as the Celtics took a 70-47 lead into the break. 

The Blue Coats quickly got the deficit within 20 coming out of the locker room behind six points from Mays as Maine scored just four points in the first four and a half minutes of the third. Maine would respond with a run that stretched the lead to 24 points, capped off by a triple from Valentine. The teams traded runs to start the second half, though it ultimately didn’t affect the scoring margin once things settled down. Delaware busted out a 2-3 zone defense to throw Maine out of rhythm, but the Celtics executed perfectly, moving the ball freely and finding Baldwin for a corner three. The Blue Coats tried their best to hang around in the third and not let Maine put the game out of reach in the way they did last Sunday. Doumbouya’s three made it a 13-point game as the Celtics struggled with turnovers, but Lindsey got it right back with a three on the other end. Maine had seven players in double figures and Valentine was already flirting with a triple-double as the third quarter ended with the Celtics ahead, 102-86. 

The early portion of the fourth quarter was evenly played, though that did not help Delaware dig out of the deep hole they were in by then. McCaw and McClung helped the Blue Coats make one last push to get within single digits in the final minutes, but a clutch bucket from Šamanić assisted by Valentine kept Delaware at arm’s length. With the assist, Valentine notched his third triple-double as a Celtic, the 22nd in franchise history and the team’s first of the season. Maine hit their free throws down the stretch to keep the Blue Coats at bay and take the win,  

The Maine Celtics will complete a two-game set with Delaware on Tuesday before heading to Washington, D.C. to face Capital City on Wednesday and Greensboro, N.C. to meet the Swarm on Friday.