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Drexel's Samme Givens, Chris Fouch chase $2M prize

The two are competing for the Broad Street Brawlers in The Basketball Tournament.

Together at Drexel, Samme Givens and Chris Fouch won 66 games in three seasons for the Dragons.

Winning was the first – and only – description that Givens gave when reminiscing about his time at Drexel.

"We won," Givens said. "We won a lot. Our locker room was so good. We had one common goal, and that was winning."

Givens and Fouch both played a critical role in Drexel's 2011-12 Colonial Athletic Association championship, the program's only CAA title since joining the conference in 2001.

As a senior, Givens averaged 11.6 points per game and started all 36 games for a Drexel team that reached the National Invitational Tournament quarterfinals. Fouch, a junior at the time, scored 10.8 points per game in his usual role of Bruiser Flint's spark off the bench. The Dragons (29-7, 16-2 CAA) were snubbed in the 2012 NCAA tournament after falling to VCU in the CAA title game.

"I think it was just a group of guys that was really dedicated," Givens said. "Nobody had a crazy ego in our locker room. We needed to do whatever Coach asked of us, and we did that to get the win."

Now fostering pro careers overseas across Europe, Givens and Fouch hope to continue their winning ways with a chance to earn $2 million. The duo is leading a team nicknamed the "Broad Street Brawlers" in this year's The Basketball Tournament, also known as TBT.

Last weekend, the Brawlers won the required two games of TBT's play-in system to earn a berth in the main draw. All TBT games will be televised on ESPN and played around the country, giving Givens and Fouch numerous reasons to play.

"It's a little bit of everything," Givens said of why he is playing ."It's great to play games before you start your season overseas. That's a great opportunity, and obviously, who doesn't want $2 million?"

This is second year in which Drexel alumni are taking part in The Basketball Tournament, although Givens did not play with Fouch, Frantz Massenat, and Scott Rodgers in 2015. With the help of 18 points from Fouch, the Brawlers easily defeated Las Vegas Chess Center on Saturday. Givens' double-double also helped take down St. Joseph's product Halil Kanacevic and Primetime NYC.

The Brawlers, also featuring former Drexel and West Chester guard Shannon Givens and Temple alum Dalton Pepper, is six wins away from the grand prize.

"That's how you've got to do it. Take it one game at a time," Fouch said. "You can't look past games because if we lose that one, it's over."

Givens, at 27, just finished his season with Maccabi Ra'anana in Israel after beginning his career in Holland. Fouch, 26, took last season off after playing two seasons in Slovakia. Both said the ups and downs of maintaining a basketball career overseas and keeping the dream alive is both challenging and rewarding.

"These last couple years have been good," Givens said. "The style of play is a little bit different, but the lifestyle is great. Israel is lovely, and I love it out there. I've been fortunate to play in countries where it's more urban, so it's an easier adjustment, and that helps me on the court, when I don't have to worry about my living situation."

These days, Fouch and Givens are relishing the chance to play together again.

"You build a chemistry together," Givens said. "I know that I can find Chris, and he can knock down a shot when I'm in the post and he's on the perimeter. I have that confidence in him."

"It's just great to play together again," Fouch said. "In four years, you learn people's habits."