Defense leads Dragons Past Georgia State, 68-46, for Eighth Straight Win

Wednesday, January 25

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00

Drexel University

Georgia State

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Defense leads Dragons Past Georgia State, 68-46, for Eighth Straight Win

1/25/2012 8:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Philadelphia, Pa. – Drexel opened the second half with a 14-1 run and held Georgia State without a field goal for the first 10:22 of the second half on its way to a 68-46 win on Wednesday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons won for the eighth straight time and remained unbeaten at the DAC this season. They improved to 8-2 in the CAA, just one game out of first place, and are now 16-5 overall.

Derrick Thomas nailed a three-pointer on Drexel's final possession of the first half to put the Dragons ahead, 37-28. It appeared the game would be tightly contested the entire way, as both teams played with high intensity on both ends of the court. However, Drexel scored the first nine points of the second half and extended the lead to 18 points. James Fields broke the streak by making one of two free throws, but the Dragons answered by scoring nine of the next 10 points. Georgia State shot just 25 percent in the second half as the Dragons avenged their last loss, which came in Atlanta to the Panthers on Jan. 2. The Panthers are now 14-7 overall and 6-4 in league play.

Georgia State came out of the gates strong and had a six point lead in the early going. The Panthers started the contest 6-for-10 from the floor and their defense seemed to bother Drexel. The Dragons got an early bucket by Daryl McCoy but went more than five and a half minutes before getting their second field goal. Eric Buckner blocked three shots early, but then the Dragon went right after him. Samme Givens scored eight straight points for Drexel with three baskets and two free throws. GSU led 19-14 before the Dragons went on an 8-0 run to take the lead which they would hold the rest of the night. Dartaye Ruffin scored on a three-point play and then picked up a loose ball for a lay-up to tie the game. After Josh Micheaux missed two free throws, Thomas sank a three-pointer putting Drexel ahead, 22-19.

Chris Fouch led Drexel with 15 points. The junior had four three-pointers and also had three assists. Frantz Massenat continued his solid play, controlling the ball against a tough Panther defense that pressured the sophomore all night. He scored 13 points and handed out six assists. Massenat, who came into the game leading the Colonial Athletic Association in three-point shooting, was 2-for-4 from behind the arc. Samme Givens picked up his third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds despite being limited to just 24 minutes. Dartaye Ruffin played well off the bench, scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Jihad Ali led the Panthers with 17 points. He had a pair of three-pointers. The Panthers were outrebounded, 40-31, and made only two of their long range attempts. The Dragons have now won 14 of their last 15 games. The team concludes its two-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against Delaware at the Daskalakis Athletic Center at 2 p.m. The game can be seen live on The Comcast Network.