Hawthorne, Rodgers Lead Dragons Past Towson, 78-65

Sunday, February 15

Daskalakis Athletic Center

3:00

Drexel University

Towson

Hawthorne, Rodgers Lead Dragons Past Towson, 78-65

2/15/2009 6:13:07 PM | Men's Basketball

Philadelphia, Pa. – Drexel seniors Scott Rodgers and Tramayne Hawthorne combined for 43 points as the Dragons defeated Towson, 78-65, at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The win moved Drexel (14-10, 10-5) into a tie for third place in the Colonial Athletic Association with George Mason.

Hawthorne, who scored 14 straight points for the Dragons early in the second half, finished the game with 23 points and had five three-pointers. Rodgers had one of his best overall performances of the year. He scored 20 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out eight assists, while committing just one turnover.

The Dragons tied their season high by making 52 percent of their shots in the contest. They made 15 of their 26 shots in the second half (.577) as they increased their lead to 16 points. Drexel also handed out a season-high 21 assists. On the other end of the floor, the defense limited the Tigers to just 38 percent shooting. Drexel is now 11-1 when holding opponents to under 40 percent from the field.

Drexel scored the first five points of the game and never trailed in the contest. The Dragons ended the first half with an 8-0 run and took a 36-26 lead at the half. Towson was unable to get any closer than seven points the rest of the way. Rodgers and Evan Neisler each scored nine in the first half. Neisler finished the game with 13 points and seven rebounds.

At halftime of the game today, Drexel honored its newest Hall of Fame Class. The 2009 Drexel Athletics Hall of Fame inductees introduced were Walter “Sonny” Bajkowski, Tammy Kratz, Jen MacNeill, Mike Serban and William D. Wittorff. Pat Delsi received the Athletics Director Legacy Award and the Sam Cozen led championship teams from 1953-1967 were also inducted.

The Dragons have a pivotal road contest on Wednesday night. Drexel faces George Mason in the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and be seen live in the Washington, D.C. area on Verizon FiOS-TV. The winner will take over sole possession of third place in the CAA with just two conference games remaining.