Drexel comes alive to beat Georgia State

As Drexel and Georgia State walked off the Daskalakis Athletic Center floor for halftime Monday night, Bruiser Flint knew things were ugly.

The Drexel coach, however, had never seen anything this ugly firsthand. Georgia State coach Rod Barnes, however, had actually witnessed worse.

On Jan. 8, 2003, a Barnes-coached Mississippi team combined with South Carolina to score 28 points in the first half. The tally marked an NCAA Division I record for combined inefficiency in a half since the shot clock was introduced in 1986.

That mark was in serious danger at Drexel. The Dragons and Panthers joined "forces" to score 31 points in the first half. Things got better for Drexel but not Georgia State as the Dragons went on to win, 57-33.

Drexel improved to 13-6 overall and 5-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while Georgia State fell to 8-11 and 3-6.

Drexel led by 18-13 at the break. When games are ugly, Flint's teams usually win. The games when the shots drill the rim, bodies hit the floor, and points are at a premium are to Drexel's advantage: Burn the game film, throw out the boxscore, and take the "W."

By making 10 of their first 16 shots in the second half, the Dragons made sure that happened. Samme Givens, Gerald Colds and Franz Massenat combined to score 21 points during a 23-10 Drexel run that broke a broken game wide open.

Givens finished the night with his eighth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points to go with 14 rebounds. Colds scored 15 for the Dragons, while Massenat added 10 points and Dartaye Ruffin chipped in six points and nine boards.

That was the good part. The first half can politely be described as ghastly.

Georgia State converted its first field goal with 18 minutes, 39 seconds to go until halftime. Thirteen missed shots later, the Panthers made their next bucket with 5:52 left. Drexel was only slightly less stagnant.

With 7:44 to go in the half, the Dragons had more three-second violations (two), than Georgia State had field goals (one). At that point, Drexel led by 10-3, with both teams shooting a combined 5 of 29 with 12 turnovers.

Georgia State, which dropped its fifth straight, shot 29.2 percent and didn't have a double-digit scorer.

Drexel improved to 8-1 at home, but now has to return to the road. The Dragons will travel to James Madison on Wednesday and Hofstra on Saturday.

Drexel's last road trip didn't include air travel but produced jet-lagged performances. Back-to-back losses to a bad William and Mary team and a good George Mason squad sent the Dragons slip-sliding into the middle of the CAA standings.

This trip could prove to be more challenging.

Nothing, though, will be as bad as Monday night's first half, although Barnes might argue that.