Three games into the season, Drexel has shown that it plays with a lot of energy and an aggressive defense, and can't overcome poor shooting.

The latest example was a 58-56 loss to Rutgers tonight in a Legends Classic game at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.

As a result, the Dragons have opened the season 0-3 for the first time since the 1990-91 season.

Drexel missed a fistful of layups and uncontested jumpers en route to shooting 26 percent against Rutgers (2-0). But to their credit, the Dragons played with a lot of grit against their opponent from the Big East Conference.

A putback by Drexel's Yannick Fombor knotted the score at 56-56 with 12 seconds to go.

But Gregory Echenique's layup at the buzzer gave Rutgers to the two-point victory.

Echenique, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound center, finished with a game-high 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Junior shooting guard Gerald Colds led Drexel with 12 points. Junior point guard Jamie Harris added 10 points.

But as was the case in Drexel's previous two games, it was missed shots that foiled the Dragons' upset bid. Drexel is shooting 34 percent for the season. They shot 37 percent last year.

It didn't take long to realize Drexel would once again struggle from the field.

In what was a sloppy start, both teams missed their first four field goal attempts. But while the Scarlet Knights started connecting, the Dragons continued to misfire.

Drexel missed 18 of their first 22 field-goal attempts en route to shooting 27.3 percent (9 of 33) in the first half. The Dragons were 0 for 9 on three-pointers before halftime.

Despite that, the Dragons kept it close by hustling to loose balls, pulling down 11 offensive rebounds and making 10 of 12 foul shots.

With those things going for them, Drexel appeared capable of an upset.

Derrick Thomas' layup 35 seconds before intermission closed Rutgers' lead to 29-28 at the break.

Harris' three-pointer from the corner gave Drexel its first lead of the game with 17 minutes, 49 seconds left. After Rutgers' Patrick Jackson scored on the ensuing possession, a bucket by Samme Givens gave the Dragons a 35-34 advantage.

The Scarlet Knights regained the lead, 43-38, thanks mostly to Drexel missing five consecutive field-goal attempts during one stretch. But as they had been doing all night, the Dragons went on a run. Thomas hit a pair of foul shots to pull Drexel within a point, 48-47, with 8:38 remaining.

Notes: Drexel junior forward Leon Spencer left the game with a hand injury with 4:36 to play and did not return.

Contact staff writer Keith Pompey at 610-313-7081 or kpompey@phillynews.com.