Categories: Sports

Drexel hands Delaware a loss, behind Shane Blakeney’s defensive performance

For years, the Drexel-Delaware men’s basketball rivalry has been the centerpiece of Drexel’s winter homecoming weekend. It’s usually a sellout and generates excitement from a packed Drexel student section.

The Dragons have won the last three homecoming matchups against the Blue Hens, and with Delaware leaving the Coastal Athletic Association for Conference USA after this school year, it marked the final time that the rivalry would be a part of the weekend’s festivities.

Drexel entered Saturday’s matchup undermanned, as their second-leading scorer Yame Butler was suspended for the first half following his ejection for unsportsmanlike conduct against Northeastern on Jan. 23.

However, Drexel put on a dominant performance over a quality Delaware team, waltzing to a 67-54 win. Drexel now is 12-9, 4-4 CAA, and Delaware is 11-10, 4-4.

MaGee stars with a supporting cast

Early on, it was clear that Kobe MaGee, the Dragons’ leading scorer, knew that he had to shoulder a larger burden than usual.He tallied nine first-half points on 4-for-6 shooting and finished with a team-high 22 points.

“With [Butler] out, my mindset was just that I’m tired of losing,” MaGee said. “I hate losing, it keeps me up at night. So coming out, hitting first and setting the tone for my guys, especially the ones that came off the bench. Set the tone for our guys and lead them to victory.”

Without Butler, who had started every game prior to his suspension, Shane Blakeney was inserted into the starting lineup. Blakeney has struggled offensively this season. He’s shooting 31% from the floor and 22% from three. But his defensive contributions were a large part of Drexel’s victory.

While he is a 6-foot-5 guard, Blakeney has a nearly 7-foot wingspan, making him a tremendous one-on-one defender. As a result, coach Zach Spiker put him on Delaware’s 6-8 John Camden, who was averaging 17.7 points per game. Camden was held to just five points on 2 of 11 shooting.

“[Blakeney] hasn’t been playing the way he wanted,” MaGee said. “Me, [Butler], and the guys were talking him through it, and he stepped up huge for the win. I told him it’s going to be a hard-fought win for us, but it’s on him. This victory is because of Shane, he stepped up in his role, and he played his heart out.”

Spiker added: “Shane Blakeney had four points and missed a couple shots. Come on. That dude was maybe the most valuable player in the game today.”

Change of pace

Another byproduct of Butler’s initial absence was a change in pace for the Dragons. According to KenPom, Drexel has played with the 349th fastest pace in college basketball. Without Butler in the first half, however, the Dragons appeared to be much more intentional in attacking offensive possessions, with players like Kevon Vanderhorst and Deuce Drake playing larger roles in pushing the tempo.

For Spiker, this was a needed change, and one he expects to continue moving forward.

“We need to play quicker all the time,” he said. “We want to play with pace, doesn’t matter who’s in the game, we need to play with more pace. One of our staff’s concerns was [Butler] can, at times, get a little too far over his skis and try and get 40 minutes of points in 20 minutes of action. We’re good when he’s aggressive, but there is a law of diminishing returns where we get going too fast, so I thought our pace was just about right.”

Saturday’s win was a model for how Drexel should play moving forward to be successful. The Dragons shot 35% from three, while evenly distributing the ball and creating open looks.

The end of the rivalry

Judging by the energy within the DAC, the Drexel-Delaware rivalry is one that the two schools appreciate. The Dragons now have a five-game winning streak against the Blue Hens dating back to the 2022-23 season. The rivalry is one they hope to continue.

“We want to beat them every time we play,” said Spiker. “It’s a shame that they made the decision to change conferences. We’re trying very hard to get them to continue this series. I hope that they’ll return that call and be serious about it, but we love playing them. It’s great for the community, it’s great for the region and we should play. It’s the right thing to do.”