Drexel University
VCU
Sam Cozen Court to be Dedicated Prior to Drexel-VCU Men's Game on Wednesday
1/5/2010 3:22:20 PM | Men's Basketball
Drexel will dedicate its new basketball court in memory of former head basketball coach Sam Cozen on Wednesday night prior to the men's basketball game against VCU. Cozen coached at Drexel for 16 years and has more wins than any other head coach in the school's history. The dedication will take place at 6:45 before the Dragons and Rams tip-off in a Colonial Athletic Association game.
This project was made possible by a generous gift from Sandy and Steve Cozen, Ellen and Tony Scarcelle, and the Cozen Family. Mr. Cozen helped to establish the program before the Dragons began play in Division I. He amassed 213 victories during an era when college basketball teams rarely played 20 games in a season. Cozen led Drexel to 11 Middle Athletic Conference championships during his 16 years and his teams also made four NCAA tournament appearances during his tenure. Cozen coached six future Drexel Hall of Famers. Bob Buckley, Dan Promislo, Alfred McCart, Bobby Morgan, Mike McCurdy and Ronald Kleppinger all played under Cozen during their days in University City.
After the dedication, the Dragons (7-8, 2-1 CAA) play a pivotal legue game against VCU (9-3, 1-2), the defending CAA champions. It will be the 15th meeting between Drexel and VCU. All of the meetings have taken place since the Dragons joined the CAA prior to the 2000-01 season. VCU is currently on a five-game wining streak against the Dragons. The Rams have won each of the last four meetings by at least seven points.
Last season, VCU scored 40 points in the second half and defeated Drexel, 75-46. The Rams led by seven at half but broke the game open by shooting 56 percent in the second half and holding Drexel to just 18 percent from the floor. Joey Rodriguez led the team with 16 points and had four three-pointers. Larry Sanders and Brandon Burgess each had 13 points, while Eric Maynor handed out eight assists. Samme Givens scored 11 points for the Dragons and Gerald Colds chipped in with 10 points.
VCU is one of the few teams in the CAA that has continued success in the DAC. The Rams are 5-1 in the building and have won five-straight games. The last Drexel win at the DAC came in the first meeting between the schools in January of 2002.
Drexel is coming off a 72-57 win at Georgia State on Monday night. Jamie Harris poured in 21 of his career-high 32 points in the first half as the Dragons shot a season-high 68 percent in the first half. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and improved Drexel's record to 7-8 overall and 2-1 in the CAA.
Harris is off to a great start for Coach Flint. He now has five games with at least 20 points. Harris is also shooting .797 from the line and leads the team in both assists and steals. Gerald Colds had a big game offensively against Georgia State with 16 points and was 3-for-5 from long range. Freshman Daryl McCoy grabbed 13 rebounds and now has 25 boards in his last two games. Samme Givens has moved into the starting line-up and leads the team in rebounding with 7.1 per game. Chris Fouch, who comes off the bench, adds 8.5 points per contest. Fouch leads the team with 27 three-pointers and is shooting just under 35 percent from behind the stripe.
VCU's four-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday night when Northeastern knocked off the Rams in Richmond, 62-57. The loss also snapped an 11-game home win streak for the Rams. VCU shot just 39 percent and Northeastern's Manny Adako had 23 points on 11-for-14 shooting. Larry Sanders and Joey Rodriguez each had 12 points for VCU. The Rams had an impressive run in its non-conference schedule. The Rams posted wins against No. 17 Oklahoma, Nevada, Richmond and Rhode Island. Larry Sanders is a CAA Player of the Year candidate. He leads the team in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage and blocks. Joey Rodriguez, who had four three-pointers in the win against Drexel last season, has a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and is tops on the club with 28 steals. The Rams have a number of offensive weapons and have six regulars who average better than 7.9 points per game.
