NEWARK, DE – Drexel took advantage of the strong inside presence of Chaz Crawford and Frank Elegar and pulled away in the final four minutes for a 69-61 Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball victory over the University of Delaware Saturday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Elegar, a 6-9 junior center, scored 19 points and pulled nine rebounds and Crawford, a 6-10 senior forward, added 11 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocked shots as the Dragons (14-4, 6-2 CAA) won for the 12th in the last 14 games and downed Delaware at the BCC for just the fifth time in 16 all-time appearances. Dominick Mejia added 13 points while Tramayne Hawthorne came off the bench to contribute 10 points.

Delaware, which dresses just seven scholarship players with none taller than 6-8, dropped its second straight game to fall to 3-16 (1-7 CAA) despite big efforts from junior forwards Sam McMahon (at right/photo by Bob Burleigh) and Herb Courtney. McMahon matched a career-high with 20 points and pulled four rebounds while Courtney posted his ninth 20-point effort of the season with 20 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

Drexel, which improved to 8-3 on the road this season, held a commanding 37-20 advantage on the boards, blocked eight shots, and shot 51.1 percent from the field (23 of 45) to post the victory. Delaware managed just five offensive rebounds the entire game and shot just 37 percent (17 of 46) from the field.

The Blue Hens stayed in front for most of the first half in this spirited rivalry, which was renewed for 134th time, leading by as much as five at 22-17 on a layup by Courtney with 5:36 left. But Drexel outscored Delaware 9-2 over the final 2:46, including a dunk and two layups by Elegar, to take a slim 26-24 lead into intermission.

The second half featured two ties and two lead changes in the first three minutes with the Hens going up 29-28 on a three-point play by McMahon with 17:08 left. Drexel went back up seconds later on a Crawford layup and built the lead to as much as seven points at 39-32 on a Mejia free throw.

But Delaware battled back with a 9-2 run, scoring all the points from the foul line, to knot the score at 41-41 with 9:35 remaining. Drexel responded and took the lead for good, using a 9-2 run of its own, including two baskets from backup Matt Stevenson, to go up 50-43 with 6:27 left.

The closest the Hens would get the rest of the way was at 54-51 with 4:20 left on a basket by McMahon. Drexel then took control, outscoring Delaware 9-1 over the next three minutes to up the lead to double digits.

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