Two big buckets at the end of the game softened the blow of a poor shooting night. The shots in the clutch and tough defense over the final three minutes sent the Sioux Falls Skyforce over the Delaware 87ers 100-93 at the Sanford Pentagon on Friday night.

The stat at one time line read 6 of 35 from long range for Sioux Falls (13-7) as Delaware (3-19) packed the lane and sent the Skyforce outside for shots. However, the last two bombs went down one from DeAndre Liggins to give Sioux Falls the lead at 93-91 with 1:27 left. The second came from Justin Hamilton with 22.1 left to make it 98-93, sealing the victory before a sold out crowd of 3,336.

For the night Delaware out shot the home team 49 percent to 38 percent, but committed 31 turnovers which led to 24 points. That statistical teeter-totter doesn’t balance exactly, but does shed light on how tight the game was. Until Hamilton’s late basket, neither team led by more than four points during the second half.

Hamilton’s 23 points led all scorers and DeAndre Liggins scored 15 points with 7 steals, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.  The contest also marked the return of Larry Drew II who returned from a groin injury to post 8 points 7 assists and 2 steals.

Matt Bouldin topped the scoring chart for the 87ers with 16 points with 9 assists and Ben Strong added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the only double-double on the night. The same two teams meet again Saturday night with Delaware's arduous task of trying to break a 9-game losing streak.

 

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