Defense Propels Mens Basketball Past Monmouth, 53-49

Saturday, December 31

West Long Branch, N.J.

TBA

Drexel University

Monmouth

Defense Propels Mens Basketball Past Monmouth, 53-49

12/31/2005 12:00:00 AM

Box Score

West Long Branch, N.J. - Drexel jumped out to a big early lead and held on to defeat Monmouth, 53-49, for its fifth-straight victory. The Dragons (8-5) never trailed in the game, but the Hawks (4-8) rallied to tie the score with 11 minutes remaining. Randy Hampton (Washington, D.C./Dunbar) sank a three-pointer and had a put back to give the Dragons back the lead and iced the contest by making a free-throw with 17 seconds to play.

The Dragons raced out to 13-0 lead to start the contest. Dominick Mejia (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern) scored nine of the points during the run, all coming from behind the arc. Mejia had 16 of his game-high 18 points in the first half. Monmouth chipped away and cut the lead to five at the end of the first half.

Drexel's stifling defense, which has been a big reason the team has won five-straight games, continued against the Hawks, Monmouth shots just 29.8 percent in the game and made just five of its 22 three-point attempts. The Dragons controlled the backboard, tying a season-high with 49 boards. They outrebounded the Hawks, 49-28. Frank Elegar (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond's) had 11 rebounds to lead the club. Chaz Crawford (Philadelphia, Pa./Hargrave Military) came off the bench to snare nine rebounds and block three shots. The defense made up for a subpar offensive performance for the Dragons. Drexel shot just 32 percent in the game and made an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers.

Whitney Coleman and Dejan Delic led four Hawks in double figures with 14 points each.

Drexel continues its three-game road swing with a trip to Virginia. Drexel will face William & Mary on Thursday and play at Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday.