Encouraging signs for Drexel's Lee in defeat

His team had its hands full with Drexel's Damion Lee, but St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli couldn't have been happier for him.

St. Joseph's beat Drexel, 52-49, in Monday's defensive struggle at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, but holding off Lee and the Dragons wasn't easy.

Lee scored 23 points. He shot 6 for 18 but hit all nine of his foul shots and contributed seven rebounds in 37 exhausting minutes.

The encouraging part was that Lee, a 6-foot-6 redshirt junior, showed no ill effects from the season-ending ACL tear that occurred in the fifth game last season, a 66-62 loss to Arizona at Madison Square Garden.

"I am healthy and just trying to do whatever I can to help this team be successful," said Lee, whose team lost its opener, 65-48, Friday at Colorado.

After the tight win that evened the Hawks' record to 1-1, Martelli lauded the effort of the 6-foot-6 redshirt junior.

"College basketball is about the kids and unfortunately people get confused and think it is about the coaches," Martelli said. "To see Damion Lee back playing, that is a wonderful thing. I admire the way he plays and that is what is good about this game."

This has been a tough start for Drexel injury-wise. Sophomore point guard Major Canady, a projected starter, is out for the season with an ankle injury. And 6-7 senior Kazembe Abif, another projected starter, is out indefinitely with a knee injury."

So there will be even more pressure on Lee to carry the offense, especially in the early going.

"I have to be ready every night," Lee said.

Instead of talking about his scoring, Lee said he should have made several open shots. And while he wouldn't use it as an excuse, Lee is probably still shaking some rust off. In the two games, he has hit 4 of 15 from beyond the arc (26.6 percent) and entered the season as a 37 percent three-point shooter.

The shot will likely come, even though Lee will see his share of double teams and junk defenses. One positive in his mind was that he returned for his first home game since March 2, 2013, a 62-46 win over UNC Wilmington. All five games he played last season were on the road.

"It was cool to play at home being I haven't played [there] in 20 months," Lee said.

Now that hurdle is cleared, Lee will look to lead this young team through a difficult early-season schedule that continues with the Thursday's game against Miami in the opener of the Charleston (S.C.) Classic.

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard