By Andy Walter

NEWARK — Charleston isn’t unbeatable.
But the Cougars certainly looked like it against Delaware on Thursday night.

CAA-leading Charleston was relentless at times, running away to a 90-71 over the Blue Hens in men’s basketball at the Carpenter Center.

With the Cougars (12-3 CAA, 21-7 overall) pushing the tempo from start to finish, Charleston got to the basket time and time again in becoming the first team to net 90 points against UD this season..

Eleven Cougars scored at least three points in the contest, including eight who hit a three-pointer.

Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby said the Hens (9-6 CAA, 17-11 overall) simply weren’t up to the challenge. Delaware has lost four straight to Charleston.

“They play fast,” said Ingelsby. “They put a lot of pressure on you. I’m disappointed with our transition defense.

“They got out in transition and we were just lost,” he said later. “That comes back to our effort, our execution, our ability to communicate on the defensive end. We’re giving guys wide-open threes and layups. There were a lot of breakdowns defensively where they were able to get some cuts, screens, some wide-open looks. We just could never get enough stops.”

“Credit to Charleston,” said senior Gerald Drumgoole, Jr. “They’re a great team. They definitely push a lot of pace. They speed the game up.

“One of our biggest keys this game was trying to control the pace and I think we did a horrible job at that.”

Delaware's Gerald Drumgoole, Jr. drives to the basket against Charleston. SPECIAL TO THE DAILY STATE NEWS/MARK CAMPBELL.

But Reyne Smith buried a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give Charleston a 43-36 advantage at intermission.

The Cougars then started the second half on a 7-2 run to get their lead up to double digits. The Hens never got Charleston’s lead under 11 points in the final 16:45 with the Cougars eventually leading by as many as 23.

“I think the big three at the end of the half was a huge play,” said Ingelsby. “That was a tough one. Then you could just never get back into it. They got the separation they needed to. You’re just kind of fighting uphill from there.”

Just like the Cougars, Delaware had four players score in double figures: Drumgoole, Jr. (14), Jyare Davis (13), Jalun Trent (12) and Christian Ray (11 points, 12 rebounds). But the Hens shot just 39.3 percent (24-of-61), including 5-of-23 from three-point range.

Delaware gets a little extra time to regroup as it doesn’t play again until Monday when it hosts rival Drexel at 6:30 p.m. The Hens have only three games left in the regular season.

The Blue Hens' Jyare Davis goes up for a shot against Charleston on Thursday. SPECIAL TO THE DAILY STATE NEWS/MARK CAMPBELL.

Right now, Delaware is sixth in the CAA standings. The Hens need to find a way back into the top four to avoid playing in the second round of the league tournament.

It’s definitely a game that will motivate us,” Drumgoole, Jr. said about Thursday’s loss.

“Obviously we’ve got to be able to regroup,” said Ingelsby. “I think that’s a challenge for Jyare Davis and Christian Ray to be better and be able to lead this team. (We’ll) see how they respond.

“It was a big game for us and we didn’t get it done. I’m curious to see how this group comes out tomorrow (at practice).”

Free throws

Davis has scored in double figures in 66 of his last 73 games. ... Ray has six double-doubles this season. ... Monday’s game with Drexel will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. ... Delaware is 5-2 on Thursday’s this year. ... Kobe Rodgers had a game-high 20 points for Charleston. ... James Scott, a 6-foot-11 freshman, came off the bench to score 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and block three shots. He was one of three Cougars in the game who stand over 6-9. .... Delaware’s last home game of the season is next Thursday against Northeastern.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at awalter@iniusa.org. Follow on X at @DSNsports.