RICHMOND, VA -- Blue Hen guard Marc Egerson posted team-highs of 15 points and nine rebounds while forward Jim Ledsome had a key block in the final minute to lead the seventh-seeded University of Delaware men’s basketball team to a 60-51 victory over 10th-seeded Drexel in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Friday night at the Richmond Coliseum.

The Blue Hens, who improved to 14-16 on the season, will take on second-seeded UNC Wilmington in the CAA Quarterfinals Saturday at 6 p.m. Delaware, which will be looking for its first trip to the semifinals since the 2002-03 season, is 0-3 against the Seahawks in the CAA Tournament. UNCW defeated Delaware 69-56 in the 2005 CAA Tournament in the Blue Hens’ last trip to the quarterfinals. Delaware edged the Seahawks, 68-67, on February 6 at the Bob Carpenter Center in the teams’ only meeting this season when Herb Courtney hit a game-winning three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining.

Courtney, who like Egerson was named to the third team All-CAA, added 14 points and eight rebounds for Delaware, while CAA All-Rookie Team selection Alphonso Dawson had 13 points and five boards. Ledsome was the fourth Blue Hen in double figures with 10 points while adding three rebounds and three blocked shots.

Drexel senior Frank Elegar, who averaged 27.5 points and 14.0 rebounds in the Dragons’ two regular season games against Delaware this season, recorded 15 points and four rebounds, although he was limited to just two points and no rebounds in the second half. Gerald Colds added nine points while Randy Oveneke had six points and a team-high seven rebounds for Drexel, which ended its season at 12-20.

“Any time you have to play your rival in the CAA Tournament, it’s never easy,” said UD second-year head coach Monté Ross, who earned his first career postseason victory as a head coach. “It was a hard fought game between two rivals, and we made the plays we had to at the end. I thought our defense was spectacular, and our post players did an excellent job on Elegar. Jim’s block and Marc hitting his free throws were big plays for us late in the game. We’re very happy to be moving on.”

The entire first half was closely fought as neither Delaware nor Drexel, which split their two regular season meetings this year with each team winning on its opponent’s home court, went ahead by more than four points. Delaware, which improved to 6-3 against Drexel in the postseason and won for the sixth straight time including all three meetings in the CAA Tournament, led by just one point before a dunk by Courtney with 20 seconds remaining gave the Blue Hens a 28-25 lead at the break.

Baskets by Courtney and Ledsome to open the second half gave Delaware a 32-25 advantage at the 18:35 mark, but five consecutive points by Colds brought Drexel back within two. However Dawson drained a three-pointer and Courtney converted two baskets to put the Blue Hens ahead 39-30 with 14:51 to play.

A foul line jumper by Courtney gave Delaware its largest lead of the game at 43-33 with 11:55 on the clock, and the Blue Hens were still up 10 points at 51-41 with 4:43 to play following two free throws by Egerson. However Scott Rodgers hit two free throws and Tramayne Hawthorne buried a three-pointer as the Dragons closed to within 51-46 at the 2:08 mark.

After two free throws by Egerson and a jumper by Oveneke, Egerson hit one of two foul shots to make it a six-point game with 1:45 to go. But Colds drained another three-pointer from the right wing to cut the Delaware lead to 54-51 with 1:29 left, and the Dragons got the ball back after a miss by Brian Johnson. But Elegar’s right-handed jump hook was blocked by Ledsome with 31 seconds remaining, and Dawson corralled the rebound.

Egerson, who went 9 of 10 from the free throw line in the second half, converted two foul shots with 18 seconds to play to put UD up five points, and after a miss by Hawthorne, Ledsome was intentionally fouled while scoring a fast break layup. He then hit two free throws with seven seconds left to give Delaware the nine-point win, its largest margin of victory in a CAA game this season.

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