Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell (Ledsome) and Bob Burleigh (Courtney)

NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware fought back from an 11-point second half deficit to tie the game in the final minutes, but Drexel’s Randy Oveneke hit his only basket of the game to put the Dragons up for good with one minute left and Scott Rodgers hit two free throws with 20 seconds remaining to down the Blue Hens 62-60 in a hard-fought Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball battle Saturday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Delaware (11-14, 8-7 CAA), which had won two of its last three games and had defeated the Dragons 67-63 back on Jan. 5 in Philadelphia, had the chance to win the game but Herb Courtney’s off-balance three-pointer from the left wing just before the final buzzer was off the mark. Seven of Delaware’s last nine games have been decided by just four points or less with the Hens winning three of them.

Drexel (11-16, 4-11 CAA), which had lost seven of its last eight games, including a 75-71 double overtime setback at Old Dominion Thursday night, held the lead or a share of the lead the final 31 minutes of the game.

All five Delaware starters scored in double figures with Courtney (bottom right) leading the way with 13 points and nine rebounds. Jim Ledsome (top right) and Marc Egerson each contributed 12 points while Brian Johnson added 11 points and Alphonso Dawson chipped in with 10 points. The Hens turned the ball over just seven times the entire game but were hurt by 39.6 percent shooting (21 of 53) from the field.

Frank Elegar posted his ninth double-double of the season with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Dragons while Rodgers added 16 points and Tremayne Hawthorne contributed 11 points. The Dragons hit on 5 of 7 three-pointers and shot 52.1 percent from the field (25 of 48) for the game to stay in front.

“This was an exciting game to watch,” said second-year Delaware head coach Monté Ross, a former Drexel assistant. “Both teams were making plays all day. Unfortunately, we just needed to make one more. Drexel made some tough contested shots and they were able to build a lead. We will look to build on this game for the future.”

Drexel gained the lead for good when Hawthorne and Rodgers hit back to back three-pointers midway through the first half to vault the Dragons to a 32-26 lead at intermission. Drexel stayed strong in the second half, building the lead to as much as 11 points at 40-29 on another Hawthorne three-pointer just two minutes into the stanza and still owned a nine-point advantage at 52-43 with 8:44 left on a Rodgers layup.

But Delaware followed with a 9-0 run as Courtney hit a layup and followed later with a three-pointer that tied the game at 52-52 with 5:21 remaining. The game featured three more ties, the last at 58-58 with 2:02 left when Ledsome drained two free throws.

But Drexel came right back to take the lead for good at 60-58 when Oveneke, a senior forward who averages just 6.4 points per game, hit his only basket of the day with 1:01 left. Rodgers followed with two free throws with 20 seconds left to up the Drexel lead to 62-58 before Delaware’s Johnson hit two of his own from the foul line to narrow the gap to two.

Rodgers had the chance to ice the game with eight seconds left, but missed the front end of a one and one free throw opportunity. Delaware got the ball and called a timeout to set up the last play. Courtney got the ball at the left wing with four seconds left, but was double-teamed and had to settle for an off-balance three-point attempt that bounced off the rim.

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