By Andy Walter

NEWARK — Home is supposed to be where Delaware is at its best.

This is where the Blue Hens should expect to win most of the time.

Lately, though, the Carpenter Center hasn’t been anything special for Delaware.

On Thursday night, the Hens lost their second-straight big CAA home game, falling to rival Drexel, 76-68, after struggling most of the night to catch the Dragons.

After falling to Towson on this court last week, Delaware finds itself with a so-so record of 6-4 in the CAA, 15-8 overall. It’s not exactly what the third-place Hens were hoping for after winning their first seven games at the Carpenter Center this season.

“That’s something that we talk to our group about — taking pride in playing in our building,” said Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby. “We’ve got to maybe change the karma a little bit. We’ve lost two tough ones in a row.

“We’ve got to be tougher, mentally and physically — play 40 minutes. We’ve got to a better job of handling our business here.”

After Drexel (5-5 CAA, 10-10 overall) netted the first seven points of the contest, the Hens led in only one stretch midway through the first half. Their biggest advantage came at 29-25 on a Kevin Anderson three-pointer with 8:32 left in the first half.

But the Dragons eventually ran off the final seven points of the first half to take a 45-36 lead at intermission. Drexel’s 6-foot-10 center, Amari Williams (10 points) hit an unlikely three at the buzzer when he found himself with the ball in his hands and time running out.

In the second half, a 9-0 run pulled Delaware within 51-50 with 14:11 still left.

Again, though, Drexel asserted itself and the Hens never seriously threatened down the stretch.

It didn’t help Delaware that it made just 5-of-21 three-point shots. Junior Ebby Asamoah, who was coming off a career-high 30-point effort in a win over James Madison, was just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc and finished with only three points.

“Give Drexel credit,” said Ingelsby. “I thought they did a really, really good job taking away the three-point line. It’s kind of who they are on the defensive end. I don’t remember if we got too many good looks from behind the arc.”

Andrew Carr had a big game for the Hens, who were playing without center Dylan Painter (sprained ankle) for the second straight night. The 6-foot-9 sophomore finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds — both career highs.

Jameer Nelson, Jr. (13), Jyare Davis (12) and Anderson (10) gave Delaware four total players in double figures. But the Hens also had only 13 assists on 26 made baskets.

“We came in leading the league in assists,” said Carr. “I think we’ve been doing a really good job of moving the ball and playing together. I think we needed to do that a little bit more offensively tonight and be a little more patient.”

“I don’t think we played as connected as we should have,” said Nelson. “Coach talked about passing the ball a little bit more.

“At JMU, we were just rolling and everybody was doing things well. Basketball doesn’t always work like that. You’ve got to find a way to win with the stuff that is working. We should have done that.”

This was the first of four straight home games for Delaware. The Hens still have five games remaining at the Carpenter Center overall.

They know they’ve got to do a better job of protecting their home court, though, for it mean something.

“It stinks not winning at home,” said Nelson. “But, at the end of the day, we’re 7-2 at home. We can still win out. We’ve got to come back tomorrow and see what we did wrong.”

Free throws

Malik Martin, a 6-foot-6 Monmouth transfer, netted 21 points for Drexel, which had four players in double figures. ... Delaware was a modest 11-of-17 from the foul line. ... The home team had won 10 straight games in this series before this season when the visiting team won both contests. ... The Hens missed a chance to sweep both regular-season games with the Dragons for the first time since 2013. ... Delaware next hosts Northeastern on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Follow Andy Walter on Twitter at @DSNSports.