76ers: Delaware Blue Coats Handed Tough Loss in Season Opener

On Friday night, the Delaware Blue Coats opened their season against the West Chester Knicks.

Prior to the start of the game, the Blue Coats celebrated their G League championship, by handing out the rings to those within the organization and players who were left from last year's roster, as well as raising the championship banner to the rafters at the Chase Fieldhouse.

One of the players who received a ring was Charlie Brown Jr., who was a key part of Delaware's championship run, now a part of the Knicks, made his return felt in the opening quarter.

The former St. Josephs' guard drained two shots from beyond the arch, finishing the first quarter with ten points on a perfect showing from the field.

As a result of Terquavion Smith's seven point first quarter, as well as the Blue Coats starting line up being productive from the field, Delaware was able to make it a close first quarter.

Smith would carry this energy into the second quarter, dropping 12 points which included two makes from down town, which wasn't enough to cover for the strong performances from West Chester's Isiah Roby and Duane Washington Jr.

While the Blue Coats kept the score against the Knicks close for the opening half, the third quarter was where the wheels fell off the wagon for the defending champions.

West Chester was able to put up nearly 40 points as a result of Brandon Goodwin's 18 point quarter, while for the Blue Coats, Smith continued to add to his scoring, by recording 12 points in the third quarter.

Following that, the Blue Coats put up a solid effort in the fourth, before dropping their first game of the season, 103-135.

Following the loss, head coach Mike Longabardi gave credit to the Knicks, while realizing that the Blue Coats have some room for improvement.

"Well, it wasn't what we liked or what we thought, got to give credit to New York, they were super aggressive," said Longabardi, "They got basically everything they want, we got a lot of work to do."

Longabardi broke down what went into the Blue Coats' third quarter collapse, seeing it as a source for improvement going forward.

"They just got in the paint, we didn't make shots. They really raced it up the floor, and we just weren't as connected," said Longabardi, "So like I said, we've got some work to do, but we'll look at the film and we'll be better."