Close game turns into lopsided outcome in UD visit to Drexel
PHILADELPHIA – Drexel has established itself as the team to beat early in the Coastal Athletic Association basketball season, and Delaware could not alter that scenario Saturday.
The Dragons remained the CAA’s lone unbeaten team, pulling away in the second half for an 86-67 win over the Blue Hens at the Daskalakis Center with a packed house of 2,461 in attendance.
Age, depth, experience playing together and a slew of offensive threats were apparent qualities as Drexel shot 60% overall and 50% beyond the arc, which Delaware could neither thwart nor replicate.
The 19-point margin made it Drexel’s most lopsided win over Delaware since a 97-77 verdict on Feb. 24, 1958, almost 66 years ago, and came despite the teams being tied 34-34 at halftime.
“We just gotta go back to the drawing board,” said Gerald Drumgoole Jr., whose 18 points led the Blue Hens, “and just really work on boxing out and rebounding.
“I thought those guys got a lot of extra possessions that we needed to hold them to. Too many second-chance points caused us to be down big at the end.”
It was the 168th meeting in the CAA’s oldest and most-played rivalry, which Delaware leads 85-83. Drexel has now won three in a row over Delaware for the first time since 2011.
The Dragons (14-6 overall) are now 7-0 in CAA games while Delaware fell to 11-8, 3-3. They’ll meet again Feb. 26 at the Carpenter Center.
“They’re one of the only teams in the country that has everybody back from the previous year,” Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby said of Drexel. “I think they’ve got good chemistry and they’ve got depth and they’ve got size. [Amari] Williams is a difference maker in the paint.”
Jyare Davis’ tip-in sent the Hens into halftime tied 34-34, despite Drexel shooting 50% in the first half. But Drexel opened the second half on a 21-9 run and was on its way.
“We lost the game in the first four minutes of the second half,” Ingelsby said. “We weren’t ready to guard. They scored. They made some 3s. They got in transition.’’
Drexel put five scorers in double figures led by Justin Moore with 18 points and another was close with nine. The 6-10 Williams had 14 points keyed by 6for-8 aim.
Davis scored 17 points and Niels Lane 10 for Delaware, which shot 43% and was outrebounded 35-24.
“We’ve gotta be more consistent, better with our habits and we just gotta be tougher,” Ingelsby said. “There were possessions where they were just driving on us or posting on us. We’re letting them get tough 2s, and we weren’t good on the backboard or doubling the post. We weren’t physical.”