Drexel seeking leaders

Some notes from the DAC ...

* Coach Bruiser Flint said he needs senior leadership from Scott Rodgers and Tramayne Hawthorne, the only two seniors on the team. Rodgers made some clutch free throws and only turned the ball over three times. Hawthorne seems comfortable providing a spark off the bench. Hawthorne (11.2) is the only returnee who scored in double figures last season.

* For a team picked last in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll, Drexel looked reasonably good vs. Penn on Tuesday morning. Eight players were in action for 10 minutes or more. Freshman forward Samme Givens collected 10 rebounds in 18 minutes and added seven points.

* Penn didn't shoot well (5 of 19 threes, 13 of 28 free throws). In the first half, the Quakers had trouble getting second shots (only four offensive rebounds).

* Crowd watching: The 10 a.m. game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center attracted a sellout crowd of 2,434. It was odd seeing many adult male fans wearing suits…Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell, a Penn alumnus, was one of the suits attending the game…Former Drexel players Chaz Crawford and Bashir Mason were present. Crawford is rehabbing a knee injury. He plans to continue playing in Turkey. Mason is an assistant coach at Marist College.

* The DAC Pack, Drexel students wearing their familiar gold T-shirts, now sit behind the visitor's bench. Previously, they sat across the court…

* In response to the renowned rollouts that Penn students present at the Palestra, Drexel students offered some clever rollouts:
"Daddy's trust fund need a bailout? You could try working!" 
"If Ben Franklin were alive today, he'd be a Drexel engineer" 
Responding to a "high school gym" chant by Penn students, Drexel students held up "Our gym may be small, but we're big where it counts: pride"