Drexel rolls to win over Southern Miss
The Dragons, who had lost four of their first five games, defeated the Golden Eagles, 59-36.
AFTER DROPPING four of its first five games this basketball season, against formidable opponents, and dealing with several injuries, Drexel needed a win. The Dragons have almost as many injured players on their bench (three) as healthy reserves (four).
Since Southern Mississippi arrived at the Daskalakis Athletic Center yesterday carrying a 3-1 record and averaging 73.2 points per game, Drexel expected to have a stressful game.
Wrong.
The Golden Eagles must've left their hearts in Hattiesburg because Drexel rolled to a stress-free, 59-36 victory. Last season, on its way to winning 29 games, Southern Mississippi pounded Drexel, 66-49, in Hattiesburg.
In limiting Southern Mississippi to half its normal scoring average, Drexel shot 48.0 percent from the field to 31.9 for the Eagles. The Dragons outrebounded the Conference USA visitors, 38-24, as the Eagles were mostly one-and-done on the offensive end.
"We stayed on top of a couple guys who we thought were tough matchups," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "We kept them out of the lane and made them shoot shots over the top of us. And we kept them off the backboards."
Norville Carey, a 6-7 junior, scored Southern Mississippi's first 14 points. He finished with 16 points thanks to solid defense by Tyshawn Myles.
Explaining the second-half shutdown of Carey, Flint said, "We made Carey catch the ball three, four steps more [away from the basket]."
Damion Lee once again led Drexel with 22 points (19 in the first half). Myles, a 6-8 freshman, topped all rebounders with 10. Rodney Williams, Drexel's leading rebounder (8.0), collected nine rebounds and contributed 12 points, mostly on fan-pleasing jams.
Drexel didn't need much from the free-throw line (5-for-6) as it made 24 of 50 field-goal attempts.
Carey scored the game's first four points for the Golden Eagles, then Lee and Williams led an 11-point Drexel surge. By halftime the Dragons were comfortably ahead, 35-21.
Offense by both teams was a lost art the first 10 minutes of the second half as each scored just eight points. On many possessions the Golden Eagles used a lot of clock before managing a shot.
Referring to losses to Colorado, Saint Joseph's, Miami (Fla.) and Southern California, Flint said, "Our defense hasn't been bad. We were just turning the ball over [too much]."
Lee, sidelined most of last season with a torn ACL, is one of two juniors starting for Drexel. Two sophomores and a freshman rounded out the first five.
Lee senses the inexperienced players filling in for point guard Major Canady (ankle) and forward Kazembe Abif (hand), who are both out for the season, and freshman forward Austin Williams (foot) are getting more comfortable.
"I'm confident: It's a next-man-up thing," Lee said. "Everyone has to add more into the pot to make us better."
Lee, a preseason all-Colonial Athletic Association first-team selection, has scored 1,086 career points. His 20.8 average entering the game paced all CAA scorers.
"We've got to start getting some practices," Flint said. "We haven't been able to practice because we've been on the road and our medical list is real long. The guys who've been in practice are actually doing OK in the games. We don't have enough guys to practice full court. Even our transfer from Utah [Ahmad Fields] has been out."
Drexel next hosts neighbor University of the Sciences Thursday night.