Givens Double Double Leads Men's Basketball to 71-55 Win Over Delaware

Saturday, January 28

Daskalakis Athletic Center

2:00

Drexel University

Delaware

Givens Double Double Leads Men's Basketball to 71-55 Win Over Delaware

1/28/2012 4:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Philadelphia, Pa. – Samme Givens scored 23 points and Frantz Massenat added 19 as Drexel defeated Delaware, 71-55, in front of a sellout crowd at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. It was the Dragons ninth straight win as they improved to 17-5 on the season and 9-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

The game started out as a typical battle between the two long-time rivals. Delaware (9-12, 5-6) jumped out to a 6-2 lead as both teams struggled to score early. The Dragons missed their first seven shots, but went ahead due to a 7-0 run midway through the half. Massenat started the run with a three-pointer and Dartaye Ruffin and Chris Fouch added buckets soon thereafter. The Dragons held the lead for the rest of the half. One of the key plays in the half came in the final seconds. Drexel led 33-26 but Delaware had the ball with a difference of five seconds on the shot and game clock. The Blue Hens' Kelvin McNeil was whistled for an offensive foul and the Delaware bench was hit with a technical. Fouch made both free throws with 10 seconds left. Drexel's final possession resulted in a Fouch three-pointer with just two ticks left on the clock, giving the Dragons a 38-26 lead at intermission.

In the second half, Delaware chipped the lead down to single digits on just one occasion, when Devon Saddler nailed a jumper with 14:09 left to make it 44-35. That was as close as the Blue Hens could come as Drexel avenged one of its two conference losses to win for the 15^th time in the last 16 games. The second half turned into a free throw contest as Delaware went to the line 19 times in the final 20 minutes, while Drexel was 13-for-16 from the stripe during that time.

Givens picked up his second straight double-double with his 23-point, 10-rebound performance. He moved into 24^th place on Drexel's career scoring list, passing Dominick Mejia. The senior also moved into ninth place on the CAA's career rebounding list. He now has 934 career rebounds.
Massenat scored his 19 points on just seven shots. The sophomore was 5-for-7 shooting, made all eight of his free throw attempts and handed out five assists. He did not have a turnover and played the entire 40 minutes. Daryl McCoy has a huge game on the boards, grabbing 11 rebounds in only 24 minutes, as the Dragons outrebounded Delaware, 41-28.

Saddler led the Blue Hens with 22 points. He was 7-for-20 from the floor. Jarvis Threatt added 16 points. The Dragons held their 11^th straight opponent under 60 points. The Dragons' defense, which came into the game second in three-point defense, allowed just one three-pointer, that coming with just 27 seconds left to play. On the other end, the Dragons' offense was once again efficient. Drexel shot 47 percent from the floor in the game and made 19 of its 24 free throw attempts (.792)

Drexel will not return to the DAC, where it has won 13 straight games, until Feb. 11. The Dragons play their next three games on the road. The stretch begins in Boston on Wednesday night when Drexel visits Northeastern. The Huskies are 7-4 in CAA play. Drexel will also play at Towson and at James Madison before returning home.