Drexel University
Vermont
Harris' Career-High 28 Points Leads Dragons Past Vermont, 74-61
11/27/2009 7:11:16 PM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
Philadelphia, Pa. – Jamie Harris poured in a career-high 28 points as Drexel jumped out to a big early lead and held off Vermont, 74-61, in a Legends Classic game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
The Dragons (2-2) trailed early, 14-13, but went on a 19-2 run midway through the second half to open a 16-point lead. Harris had eight of those points, including three on free throws caused by a pair of Vermont (2-3) technical fouls. The Catamounts chipped away at the lead and cut it to eight at intermission. Maurice Joseph nailed a three-pointer with 43 seconds left in the half as the teams went to the break with Drexel leading, 41-33.
Drexel's lead extended to 13 points with 12:06 to play in the game when Chris Fouch made one of his three three-pointers. Vermont answered by holding Drexel scoreless for the next 3:15 and scoring eight straight points to make it a game at 54-51 with a little more than nine minutes to play. After a Drexel timeout, the Dragons countered by scoring six of the next seven points to take an eight-point lead. The Catamounts were unable to get any closer than six points the rest of the way as the Dragons began the tournament with their second straight win.
Harris topped his career-high in scoring for the second straight game. The junior was 9-for-17 from the floor and 9-for-12 from the line. Gerald Colds had his best shooting game of the year, knocking down six of his nine shots including two of three from behind the arc. Fouch eclipsed his career-high with 14 points, 11 of them coming in the first half. Drexel shot a season-best 47 percent from the floor and held Vermont to just 35 percent shooting in the game and 31 percent in the second half. Samme Givens grabbed a team-high eight boards in 16 minutes off the bench.
Vermont's Marqus Blakely, the top player in the America East Conference the last two seasons, was plagued by foul trouble, but still managed to score 18 points and grab 11 rebounds. Maurice Joseph made four three-pointers and finished with 14 points. The Catamounts went to the line 28 times, but shot just 50 percent from the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes.
Vermont will face Cornell in the first game Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. Drexel will face Toledo in the nightcap. Cornell defeated Toledo in the first game of the Legends Classic earlier on Friday afternoon.
