Drexel wins 13th straight

With so many quality options on offense, Chris Fouch has played a supporting role for Drexel this season.

After leading the Dragons in scoring last season, Fouch entered Saturday's game against Hofstra ranked fourth on the team.

But the junior sharpshooter still can light it up when needed as he did against the Pride when Fouch paced the white-hot Dragons with 25 points in a 78-67 victory over Hofstra at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

It was the 13th straight win and 19th in 20 games for Drexel (21-5, 13-2 Colonial Athletic Association), which maintained its share of first place in the league with three regular-season conference games remaining while continuing its remarkable home-court dominance.

"My role is to come in and bring leadership and energy off the bench," said Fouch, Drexel's sixth man. "Be ready to play and be ready to make shots when they come to me. . . . Let these guys do what they do and be a spark when I need to."

The Dragons, who have won all 11 home games this season and 14 straight overall, needed a flame early in the second half when the Pride (8-19, 2-13) scored 10 of 14 after the break to close to within 36-34 with 17 minutes, 35 seconds remaining. Fouch provided it by scoring six straight points to start the Dragons on a dominating seven-minute stretch that ended with them up 57-40 with 10:34 left.

"He knows we don't need him to shoot 20 times and get 25 points a game," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said.

Fouch's outburst put him at 1,012 career points, and he became the 32d Drexel player to reach 1,000. Frantz Massenat added 20 points and five assists in shortened minutes because of first-half foul trouble, while Damion Lee scored 15 to go with four assists.

Lee left the game in the final 51/2 minutes with an apparent ankle injury. Without providing a specific update, Flint said he expected Lee to be "all right."

Flint believes the CAA deserves two teams in the NCAA tournament.

"I get the argument that the league may not have the numbers," Flint said. "But are you watching? We have a lot of people who are going to be in the NCAA tournament that are around .500 in their conferences.

". . . We have three really good teams, and I think we've all proven that."