Dragons' Rally Falls Short at Hofstra, 70-68

Saturday, February 25

Hempstead, N.Y.

TBA

Drexel University

Hofstra

2/25/2006 12:00:00 AM

Box Score

Hempstead, N.Y.--Bashir Mason's three-point attempt as time expired fell short as Hofstra held off a late Drexel comeback to beat the Dragons, 70-68. Mason's attempt came after Dominick Mejia made a free throw to cut the lead to two and intentionally missed the second shot. Drexel tapped the rebound back to Mason for the winning attempt, but it f ell short as the Pride (22-5, 14-4 CAA) won for the 20th-straight time at Hofstra Arena.

Drexel trailed by 11 with just 2:57 in the game, but held the Pride without a field goal the rest of the way. Dominick Mejia started the run with a three-pointer, his school record-setting 91st three-pointer of the season. Tramayne Hawthorne scored five points, including a three-point play in the final minute to make it a 68-67 game with 45 seconds left. Mason picked up a steal on the inbounds pass, and Drexel had three shot attempts to go ahead but each bounced off the rim. Hofstra's Greg Johnson made two free throws with 12 seconds to play to give the Pride a 70-67 lead.

Hofstra trailed 37-32 at intermission, but the Pride opened the second half with an 18-1 run to regain the lead. The Pride shot 60 percent in the final 20 minutes, but committed 13 turnovers which allowed the Dragons to stay in the game. Frank Elegar (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond's) scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the second half. He also led the club with seven rebounds.

Mason added 14 points and five steals in 40 minutes for Drexel. Loren Stokes led Hofstra with 20 points, while Antoine Agudio was 5-for-5 from long range and finished with 19 points. The Pride finished 7-for-9 from behind the arc.

Drexel begins the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament on Friday in Richmond, Va. The Dragons will be the eight-seed in the tournament and will face Delaware at 12 p.m.