Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Saint Joseph's
Dragons End 2008 With a 64-52 Win Against Saint Joseph's
12/31/2008 8:20:08 PM | Men's Basketball
Philadelphia – The Drexel men's basketball team closed out 2008 with a 64-52 win against Saint Joseph's. The Dragons opened up a 21-point lead in the second half and defeated the Hawks in front of a crowd of 5,631 at the Palestra.
Drexel (4-6) took the lead for good at the end of the first half. The Dragons had the last possession, but were unable to get the ball inside. The ball got back to Jamie Harris, who drained a long, desperation three-pointer from just inside the hash mark to give the Dragons a 30-28 advantage. The Dragons scored the first seven points of the second half and the Hawks (5-7) could get no closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Dragons' defense held Saint Joseph's to only six field goals and 22 percent shooting in the second half. The Hawks scored just nine points in the first 16 minutes of the second half as the Dragons' lead swelled to 58-37. The lead could have been bigger, but Drexel shot just 57 percent from the line in the second half. Saint Joseph's tried to make it a game, and got the lead to single digits at 58-50 with 1:07 to play, but Drexel free throws gave Drexel its third win in the last five games against their cross-town rivals. Saint Joseph's entered the game leading the series, 43-7
Scott Rodgers led the way for the Dragons with 18 points. Jamie Harris added a career-high 16 points, seven rebounds and was 5-for-7 from the line. Evan Neisler tied Rodgers for the team lead with eight rebounds. Tasheed Carr led Saint Joseph's with 19 points. Ahmad Nivins added 16 points and eight rebounds.
