(Delaware Athletics)
Delaware, who split its first four weekend matchups in 2024, closed out a packed Bob Carpenter Center with a narrow victory for its first 2-0 CAA week. Let's break down how these two games went and look forward to what's ahead in next weekend's slate.
02/01 @ William and Mary
The William and Mary Tribe held the lead for 66 seconds in the beginning of the game, but the Hens ignited a flame offensively and didn't turn back. Delaware routed to an 81-53 victory, with all five starters scoring in double figures (Christian Ray 17, Gerald Drumgoole 16, Cavan Reilly 16, Jyare Davis 13, Niels Lane 12). Delaware found success near the basket, outscoring William and Mary 48-28 in the paint. On the defensive end, Reilly led the group with 4 steals and Jalun Trent had 3 blocks, assisting the Hens to 19 fast break points and 15 points off turnovers. A comfortable victory gave head coach Martin Ingelsby a chance to get everyone on the floor and provide some rest for Saturday's home matchup against Monmouth, who defeated #1 Drexel this same night.
02/03 vs. Monmouth
Heading into yesterday's game, both Delaware and Monmouth sat at 5-4 in conference play, so the result had a major stake in any future tiebreaker scenario as this is their only matchup this season. The comparison in quality between the two showed as well. Delaware, who held the lead for the majority of the game, wasn't able to pull away as the Hawks played clean, balanced basketball on both ends. Some big shots made by Monmouth's Xander Rice capitalized on turnovers and missed free throws by the Hens, but Delaware was given the opportunity to put the game away after Jack Collins was called for his 5th personal foul before the ball was inbounded, being awarded as an intentional foul. This allowed Drumgoole two free throws and the ball to return to the Hens. Sitting at 81-80 with two seconds left, Drumgoole made one of two, and Jyare Davis made both following the next inbound and foul to conclude an 84-80 home victory for the Fightin' Blue Hens.
Both of Delaware's wins this weekend were centered on the offensive end. The Hens scored over 80 points, shot over 50% from the field, and shot 40% or better from the three-point line in each. Reilly, who started non-conference play hot, found his stroke again this week shooting 7-13 from three. When asked about Reilly's play affecting offensive performance, head coach Martin Ingelsby stated, "Thursday night was a huge night for Cavan. We need him to make shots and put pressure on the paint. He's in a good rhythm." Drumgoole also shot 6-13 from deep this weekend, and VMI transfer forward Tyler Houser went 3-5 as well. "(Tyler)'s flowing and learning how to play off of Jyare," Ingelsby added. "We have good balance and guys who can score the basketball. The more we can distribute and share it, it obviously takes pressure off Jyare."
Christian Ray, who has had a really strong season for the Blue Hens, joined the 1,000-point club on Saturday. When asking Christian about pushing through the adversity of the final two minutes, especially through long stretches of official reviews, he responded, "We're old; we've been through this a lot individually, but it's time for us to go through it together. We haven't been 2-0 all year in a conference back-to-back, so we needed to come out and get this one done at home." The other Blue Hen who surpassed 1,000 career points this season, Jyare Davis, scored 14 of his 19 points Saturday in the second half, much of them coming through Monmouth throwing double teams his way. When talking about how he felt offensively, he said, "I just tried to be aggressive and compete hard; usually good things happen when you do those two things."
Now let's get to week 6's opponents, who are both familiar from this season.
02/08 @ Towson
(Mic Smith, AP)
Record: 14-9 (7-3 CAA)
PPG/PAG: 67.8/64.2 (+3.6)
KenPom/NET: 144, 141
Leading Scorers: Christian May 12.1, Nendah Tarke 10.8, Dylan Williamson 10.4
Leading Rebounder: Charles Thompson 7.7
Leading Assists: Dylan Williamson 3.1
The Towson Tigers came into a packed Bob Carpenter Center and stole the show, defeating the Hens 67-56. Both teams shot a combined 38% from the field in the first matchup, but the pair of Christian May and Dylan Williamson scoring 39 in total was enough to fuel a road win. With a handful of teams expected to be in the race for the top 4 seeds, Delaware has a good chance to tighten the race with a win by offsetting the result in Newark.
Head Coach Pat Skerry, who is in his 13th season with the Tigers, has this group playing at one of the slowest tempos in the country. They want to use the shot clock in their advantage, showing composure and trusting their ability to get points from anyone on the floor, having seven different players averaging 5.5 points a game or more this season. They play tough, physical defense and want their opponents to fall into their style of game.
Christian May, who is shooting 40% from three-point range in conference play, and Dylan Williamson, one of the favorites for CAA 6th-Man of the Year, aren't the only ones who can score. Coppin State transfer Nendah Tarke received a waiver in December from the NCAA to play this season. Tarke is averaging Towson's best 12.2 points in conference games and is shooting 34% from 3. Freshman Tyler Tejada is also averaging almost 10 points a game on the season. Forward Charles Thompson, who was ejected with two technical fouls in the first matchup this season, also can find his own rhythm down low.
Towson is coming off a close loss at Hofstra on Saturday. With a Delaware win, both the Tigers and the Blue Hens will sit at 7-4 in the CAA heading into the weekend.
02/10 vs. William and Mary
(William and Mary Athletics)
Record: 8-15 (3-7 CAA)
PPG/PAG: 67.8/64.2 (+3.6)
KenPom/NET: 324, 327
Leading Scorers: Gabe Dorsey 13.6, Trey Moss 12.8, Chase Lowe 12.8
Leading Rebounders: Chase Lowe 6.5, Caleb Dorsey 5.9
Leading Assists: Chase Lowe 2.8
The Tribe sit at 3-7 in conference play. After losing to Delaware, they battled the defending CAA champions College of Charleston on Saturday, losing 84-83 to the Cougars. Head coach Dane Fischer, currently in his 5th season with the Tribe, has a balanced offense with seven of his players averaging over 7 points a game, three of them averaging double digits.
Gabe Dorsey, a 6'6" wing that transferred from Vanderbilt before last season, has made 77 3-pointers this season off 39%. His brother, Caleb, transferred in this season from Penn State and has added solid forward depth for the team. Other contributors for this team include 6'5" guards Chase Lowe and Matthew Case, 6'3" guard Trey Moss, and 6'10" forward Charlie Williams. William and Mary will first begin their road trip passing through Newark on I-95 for a Thursday evening matchup at Monmouth. The Tribe will look to string some results in their favor in attempt to remain out of a first round tournament matchup as an 11 through 14 seed.
CAA Outlook
Standings*
Drexel: 8-2
Towson: 7-3 (2-0 Head-to-Head)
UNC Wilmington: 7-3 (2-1 H2H)
Charleston: 7-3 (0-3 H2H)
Hofstra: 6-4 (1-0 H2H)
Delaware: 6-4 (0-1 H2H)
Stony Brook: 5-5 (1-0 H2H, 3-0 vs. 3-7 teams)
North Carolina A&T: 5-5 (1-0 H2H, 2-2 vs. 3-7 teams)
Monmouth: 5-5 (0-1 H2H, 1-2 vs. 7-3 teams)
Campbell: 5-5 (0-1 H2H, 0-2 vs. 7-3 teams)
William and Mary: 3-7 (2-0 H2H)
Northeastern: 3-7 (1-1 H2H)
Elon: 3-7 (0-2 H2H)
Hampton: 0-10
*: Using tiebreaker format CAA released in 2022 [Link: CAA Men's Basketball Tiebreakers - Coastal Athletic Association (CAA Sports)]
Thursday Games (02/08):
Northeastern @ Campbell (7 pm)
Stony Brook @ Elon (7 pm)
Hofstra @ Hampton (7 pm)
William & Mary @ Monmouth (7 pm)
Delaware @ Towson (7 pm)
Drexel @ UNCW (7 pm)
NC A&T @ Charleston (8 pm)
Saturday Games (02/10):
Monmouth @ Northeastern (1 pm)
Stony Brook @ Campbell (2 pm)
UNCW @ Hampton (2 pm)
Hofstra @ NC A&T (2 pm)
Drexel @ Charleston (3:30 pm)
William & Mary @ Delaware (4 pm)
Monday Games (02/12):
Elon @ Towson (9 pm)
Twitter/X: @SSN_BlueHens
