Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Northeastern
Drexel Rallies From a 17-Point Deficit to Defeat Northeastern, 68-59
1/29/2007 10:37:41 PM | Men's Basketball
Boston, Mass. – Frank Elegar (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond's) scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half as Drexel rallied to defeat Northeastern, 68-59. The Huskies (7-15, 5-6 CAA) led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but Drexel (16-5, 8-3 CAA) went on a 25-5 run in the second half to come away with the road win.
Drexel struggled out of the gate, while Northeastern shot the ball well in the early going. The Huskies took a 25-8 lead with 9:03 left in the first half. Drexel chipped away and cut the lead to seven at intermission, as the Dragons scored the last five points of the half.
Northeastern increased its lead to 13 by scoring the first six points of the second half. The Dragons began pressing the Huskies and started to get back in the game. Northeastern's Adrian Martinez was called for an intentional foul after a Bashir Mason (Jersey City, N.J./St. Benedict's) steal that started the momentum change. A short time later, the Dragons went on an 11-0 run to take the lead for good. Elegar put the Dragons up, 45-44, with 10:10 to play on a short jumper. Dominick Mejia (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern) pushed the lead to four with a three-pointer and Tramayne Hawthorne (Steelton, Pa./Steelton-Highspire) scored on a lay-up to make it a six-point game.
Mejia finished with 12 points and was 4-for-4 from the line in the final minutes. Hawthorne added 10 points and was 4-for-5 from the floor. Mason had 11 points and four steals. He became just the second Dragon ever to reach 200 career steals. The Dragons shot 65 percent from the floor in the second half and finished 6-for-8 from behind the arc.
Matt Janning led Northeastern with 18 points, including 14 in the first half. Bennet Davis added 14 and had a team-high seven rebounds.
The Dragons return home for a two-game home stand starting on Thursday night. Drexel will host Old Dominion in a pivotal CAA contest beginning at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPNU and can be heard on WNTP 990 AM and on the web at drexeldragons.com.
