The Dragons (11-16, 4-11 Colonial Athletic Association) took the lead for good on Randy Oveneke's jumper with 1 minute left. Scott Rodgers sank a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left to make it 62-58.
Brian Johnson hit two free throws for Delaware (11-14, 8-7) with 10.1 seconds remaining, and the Blue Hens got one last chance when Rodgers missed the front end of a one-and-one with 8.7 seconds left. But Herb Courtney's off-balance 3-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the front of the rim.
Rodgers scored 16 points and Tramayne Hawthorne added 11 for the Dragons, who won for just the second time in their last nine games.
Drexel shot 52.1 percent from the field.
All five starters scored in double figures for Delaware, led by Courtney with 13 points.
Drexel led 52-42 with 8:41 left, but Delaware responded with a 10-0 run, tying it at 52 on Courtney's 3-pointer with 5:21 remaining. It was the first of four times the score was tied in the final five and a half minutes.
Drexel led 32-26 at halftime and quickly built a 40-29 advantage, with Hawthorne scoring the Dragons' first eight points of the half.
In the first half, Drexel shot 59.1 percent, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, compared to just 35.7 percent for Delaware.
