Dragons Down Cleveland State for Second Straight Triple OT Win

Wednesday, December 4

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00

Drexel University

5-2

Cleveland State

4-4

OT 1

OT 2

OT 3

CSU

Drexel

Dragons Down Cleveland State for Second Straight Triple OT Win

12/4/2013 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)

Philadelphia, Pa.. – Frantz Massenat sank a pair of free throws with seven seconds left as the Drexel men's basketball team defeated Cleveland State in triple overtime, 85-82. It was the second straight triple overtime win for the Dragons, who improved to 5-2 on the season. Cleveland State fell to 4-4. Drexel became the first team in the NCAA to appear in back-to-back triple overtime games since Ball State did it in 2000 (according to ESPN stats). Ball State lost both of those games.

Massenat put the Dragons up for good with 2:52 left in the third overtime period on a driving lay-up. After a stop by the Dragons' defense, Massenat grabbed a board and led Tavon Allen in alone for a dunk which electrified the crowd of 2,127 and put Drexel ahead, 81-78, with :38 seconds remaining in the . The Vikings answered with a pair of free throw by Demonte Flannigan. On Drexel's next possession, Allen was fouled and calmly sank a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left. CSU was not finished yet, as Jon Harris sank a deep three-pointer, trimming the lead to one with eight seconds left. Flannigan was forced to foul Massenat who gave the Dragons a three-point lead with two free throws. CSU had one last chance but a long three-pointer missed wide left as Drexel won for the fifth time in the last six games.

Cleveland State looked like it would escape a win in the second overtime. The Vikings were up one with the ball with 21 seconds to play. The Dragons elected not to foul immediately, but to trap off the inbound, and they forced a traveling violation. Drexel put the ball in Massenat's hands once again, and this time the senior drove and was fouled with 4.5 seconds left. He missed the first, but made the second to tie it up. The Vikings came down and Forbes had a running three-point attempt from straight on miss, and for the second straight game, the Dragons played into the third overtime period.

The teams headed into the first overtime tied at 58. Drexel had a chance to win it in regulation, but Massenat's driving attempt went off the backboard and rim. In the first extra frame, the Dragons went on a 7-1 run to start and took a six-point lead. Trey Lewis cut the lead in half with a three-pointer and then each team made one of two from the line. With Drexel ahead 66-63 and only :37 left, Cleveland State came down and Bryn Forbes came off a screen and hit a three-pointer to tie it with :24 to play. The Dragons again had a chance to win it, but Massenat's three-pointer from the top of the arc would not go down and the game went into a second overtime period.

Allen, who has replaced the injured Damion Lee in the starting line-up, led Drexel with 23 points. He was just 6-for-21 from the floor but did sink nine of his 11 free throw attempts. Massenat scored 21 points and handed out nine assists with just two turnovers in 55 minutes. Senior Dartaye Ruffin came up with his first double-double of the year, scoring a season-high 15 points and tying his career-high with 14 rebounds. Ruffin was 6-for-8 shooting. Chris Fouch made three more three pointers and finished with 17 points on the night.

Harris led the Vikings with 27 points and was 4-for-7 from deep. Bryn Forbes had 23 points for CSU. The sophomore had 21 of his 23 points in the second half and overtime periods. The Vikings made 10 three pointers in the game, while Drexel was just 5-for-20 from long range.

The Dragons broke a 15-15 tie with a 15-2 run to take a 13-point lead late in the half. Frantz Massenat started the run with a pair of free throws and Chris Fouch had eight points during the stretch, including a pair of three pointers. Cleveland State sank a long three-pointer with five seconds left in the half as the shot clock expired. It was the Vikings only field goal in the last five minutes of the half, but did trim Drexel's lead to 30-20 at the half. The second half was a different story as the Vikings shot 70 percent from the floor. CSU made its first five shots of the half to get right back in the game.

The Dragons conclude their two-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against Tennessee State in the DAC. Tip-off will be at 4 p.m.