Drexel has what it takes two win
DREXEL CAN'T shoot. The numbers don't fib. Going into Thursday night's game against Delaware at the Daskalakis Center, the Dragons were converting 38.7 percent from anywhere, 32.3 from three. So it wasn't anything that unusual when they were 11-for-32 in the first half, 1-for-12 from deep. But it was a really big deal when they went 14-for-21, 4-for-6 in the final 20 minutes.
DREXEL CAN'T shoot. The numbers don't fib.
Going into Thursday night's game against Delaware at the Daskalakis Center, the Dragons were converting 38.7 percent from anywhere, 32.3 from three. So it wasn't anything that unusual when they were 11-for-32 in the first half, 1-for-12 from deep. But it was a really big deal when they went 14-for-21, 4-for-6 in the final 20 minutes.
And maybe not coincidentally, they were able to turn a two-point intermission deficit into a 74-64 win, which gave them their first winning streak since last season.
"When they go in, I become a genius," said coach Bruiser Flint, whose team had won by five at 19-win William & Mary five days earlier. "If not, then I don't know what I'm doing.
"It is what it is."
The Dragons are now 5-23, 3-14 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Delaware, which beat them by nine in Newark two weeks ago, is 7-21, 2-15.
"Any time you allow a team to shoot 67 percent (in a half) . . . ," said Delaware coach Monte Ross. "We didn't guard nearly as well as we needed to. They really had us on our heels."
The Hens made 10 of 28 inside the arc after the break. That wasn't the way he drew it up, either.
"Translated, that means we missed a lot of layups," Ross pointed out. "You have to finish inside, in any game."
This means the Dragons will be the No. 9 seed, and the Hens 10th, in next week's CAA Tournament in Baltimore.
Delaware had won the last three meetings at the DAC.
With 11 minutes left, the Dragons trailed by one in a game that hadn't seen either team lead by more than four since 9-3. Then they scored 12 straight over the next 3 1/2. The closest it would get after that was eight. The Dragons would make 12 of 17 free throws in the closing 5:14.
Freshman guard Terrell Allen, the CAA Rookie of the Week, scored 19 on five shots in 22 minutes. He also made all 10 of his tries from the line, to go with three assists and zero turnovers. At W & M, he had a career-high 20.
"It's been kind of rough for us," said the player Flint has called his most consistent. "You just have to keep working hard in practice. Coach has been on me. I was trying to score too much (earlier in the season), taking chances, turning it over. Now I've got a lot (more) confidence."
And . . .
"It's always good to win," he continued. "This definitely feels great."
Three of his teammates also reached double digits. Senior Tavon Allen (no relation) had 18 off the bench, including three of the Dragons' five treys, plus four assists and two blocks. Rodney Williams got 15, six boards, four assists and a pair of swats. Kazembe Abif had 10 and 13 rebounds. The other two who got in, Rashann London and Austin Williams, contributed a combined dozen points.
Delaware's top scorers, Marvin King-Davis and Kory Holden, had 42 between them. King-Davis got 24, and grabbed eight off the glass. Holden took three more shots (20) and made four fewer baskets (six). He also had seven assists.
Both teams have been forced to deal with personnel issues, physical and otherwise, that have obviously impacted their respective bottom lines. But that doesn't matter anymore.
The Dragons host Northeastern on Saturday to close out the regular season. They lost by 10 to the Huskies earlier this month in Boston.
"I'm happy for (the kids)," Flint said. "We've lost a lot of tough games. Most of them came down to like the last one or two possessions. If we'd made plays, the outcomes would have been different.
"We know we're in the bottom of the league. It's a matter of, 'Let's just get a couple of wins.' I hope it continues."
@mikekerndn