Drexel University
Temple
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Drexel Defeats Temple, 69-54, for Sixth Win in a Row
12/22/2006 10:29:41 PM | Men's Basketball
Philadelphia - Drexel's Kenny Tribbett (Berlin, N.J./Chester) scored 12 points and had seven rebounds off the bench to lead the Dragons to a 69-54 victory at Temple. It was the sixth straight win for the Dragons who snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Owls (5-4). The win gave Drexel three victories against Big Five teams this season. It is the first time in the history of the program that a Drexel team has accomplished that feat.
The Dragons (8-2) broke open a close game with a 16-4 run midway through the second half. Junior Randy Oveneke (Antwerpen, Belgium) had all six of his points during the run. After an Oveneke lay-up put Drexel up for good at 45-43, senior Chaz Crawford (Philadelphia, Pa./Hargrave Military) scored on a lefty hook to make it a four-point game. Temple answered with a bucket, but Dominick Mejia (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern) nailed a three-pointer with 6:49 to play to put the Dragons up 50-45. The Owls would not get within five points the rest of the way as the Dragons made 13 of their final 16 shots from the free-throw line to preserve the win.
Frank Elegar (Bronx, N.Y./St/. Raymond's) and Scott Rodgers (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) each had 13 points for the Dragons. Tribbett, who scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half, kept the Dragons in the game in the early going. Both Elegar and Crawford were in foul trouble early and the redshirt freshman was able to keep Drexel in the game.
Drexel was able to take advantage of its size in the contest. The Dragons owned the glass and outrebounded the Owls, 44-25 Oveneke grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Drexel finished the game shooting 40 percent from the floor. They opened the game by making just one of their first 11 shots, but redeemed themselves by shooting 50 percent in the final 20 minutes.
Dustin Salisbery led Temple with 15 points. Dionte Christmas was also in double digits with 12 points. Temple shot just 10-for-17 from the line, while Drexel converted 28 of its 36 free throws.
The Dragons open up conference play on Thursday night when they host George Mason at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Patriots earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament a year ago and advanced all the way to the Final Four. Game time is set for 7 p.m. The game can be seen live on CN8, which reaches over 7.5 million television households in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, eastern Massachusetts and Washington, DC. It can also be heard on WNTP 990 AM and on the web at drexeldragons.com.
