Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Towson
Mejia Leads Dragons Past Towson in Season Finale, 77-68
2/24/2007 3:26:30 PM | Men's Basketball
Towson, Md.—Drexel shot just under 70 percent in the first half and made its free throws down the stretch to defeat Towson, 77-68. Dominick Mejia (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern) led four players in double figures with 18 points as the Dragons improved to 22-7 overall and 13-5 in the CAA.
Both teams came out playing well offensively in the game. Towson led early, 23-16, but the Dragons went on a 29-12 run to end the half and took a 45-35 lead at intermission. Mejia had 13 of his 18 points in the first half. Scott Rodgers (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) added 10 points and three assists in the game's first 20 minutes. Rodgers finished the game with 16 points.
Drexel never trailed in the second half, although the Tigers did make a late run. Gary Neal, who finished with a game-high 30 points, made one of two free throws with 3:06 left to cut the Drexel lead to two at 66-64. On Drexel's next possession, Mejia drained a three-pointer to put Drexel up by five, and Towson was unable to make it a one-possession game the rest of the way. The Dragons were 8-for-8 from the line in the final 1:36 to put the game away.
Frank Elegar (Bronx, N.Y./St. Raymond's) added 14 points for the Dragons, while Tramayne Hawthorne (Steelton, Pa./Steelton-Highspire) came of f the bench to score 10 points. Chaz Crawford (Philadelphia, Pa./Hargrave Military), the CAA's leading rebounder, grabbed 13 boards in the game and now has 801 rebounds in his career, the sixth-highest total ever at Drexel.
The Dragons shot 59 percent in the game and were 8-for-15 from behind the arc. Drexel's 22 wins are the most for the program since the 1996-97 team won 22 games. It also marks the most wins in a season for Head Coach Bruiser Flint. His previous best was 21 in 1997-98 when he led UMass to the NCAA Tournament.
The Dragons have a bye in the CAA Championship and will begin play on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Drexel will be the fourth seed in the tournament and will play the winner of Friday's second game, which features the fifth-seed facing the 12th seed.
