Dragons find the range and down Blue Hens

Drexel can't shoot. The numbers don't fib.

Going into Thursday night against Delaware at the Daskalakis Center, the Dragons were converting 38.7 percent from anywhere, 32.3 from three. So it wasn't unusual when they were 11 for 32 in the first half, 1 for 12 from deep. But it was a really big deal when they went 14 for 21, 4 for 6 in the final 20 minutes.

And maybe not coincidently, they were able to turn a one-point intermission deficit into a 74-64 win, which gave them their first winning streak since last season.

"When they go in, I become a genius," said coach Bruiser Flint, whose team had won by five at 18-win William and Mary five days earlier. "If not, then I don't know what I'm doing. It is what it is."

The Dragons are now 5-23, 3-14 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Delaware, which beat them by nine in Newark two weeks ago, is 7-21, 2-15.

"Any time you allow a team to shoot 67 percent [in a half] . . .," said UD coach Monte Ross. "We didn't guard nearly as well as we needed to. They really had us on our heels."

The Hens made 10 of 28 inside the arc after the break. That wasn't the way he drew it up, either.

"Translated, that means we missed a lot of layups," Ross pointed out. "You have to finish inside, in any game."

This means the Dragons will be the No. 9 seed, and the Hens 10th, in the CAA tournament next week in Baltimore.

With 11 minutes left, the Dragons trailed by one in a game that hadn't seen anyone lead by more than four since 9-3. Then they scored 12 straight over the next 31/2. The closest it would get after that was eight. The Dragons would make 12 of 17 free throws in the closing 5 minutes, 14 seconds.

Freshman guard Terrell Allen, the CAA rookie of the week, scored 19 on five shots in 22 minutes. He also made all 10 of his tries from the line, to go with three assists and zero turnovers. At William and Mary he had a career-high 20.

"It's been kind of rough for us," said the player Flint has called his most consistent. "You just have to keep working hard in practice. Coach has been on me. I was trying to score too much [earlier in the season], taking chances, turning it over. Now I've got a lot [more] confidence."

And . . .

"It's always good to win," he continued. "This definitely feels great."

Senior Tavon Allen (no relation) had 18 points off the bench, including three treys, plus four assists and two blocks. Rodney Williams got 15, six boards, four assists, and a pair of swats. Kazembe Abif had 10 points and 13 rebounds.