Massenat and Wilson Lead Dragons Past UNCW, 79-63

Saturday, January 18

Wilmington, N.C.

2:00

Drexel University

10-7 (2-2CAA)

UNC Wilmington

6-14 (0-5CAA)

Drexel

UNCW

Massenat and Wilson Lead Dragons Past UNCW, 79-63

1/18/2014 3:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)

Wilmington, N.C. – Frantz Massenat scored 30 points and Freddie Wilson added 16 points, all in the second half, as Drexel (10-7) rallied to defeat UNCW, 79-63. The Dragons shot 67 percent in the second half and scored 52 points in the final 20 minutes to even their Colonial Athletic Association record to 2-2.

The Dragons opened the second half with a 13-2 run over the first 5:30 of the half to get back into the game after trailing by as many as 14 points. All 13 of the points during the run were scored by Massenat or Chris Fouch. With just under 13 minutes to go, Wilson got hot and made his biggest contribution yet as a Dragon. The junior transfer from Seton Hall went 6-for-8 in the final 13 minutes of the game and made three of his four three-point attempts. He finished with a career-high 16 points, all of which came in the final 20 minutes. Wilson put the Dragons ahead for good with a jumper at the 8:39 mark, which made it 53-51 Drexel. UNCW (6-14, 0-5 CAA) went to the line with a chance to tie, but made just one of two free throws, and the next time down court, Wilson nailed a three-pointer to extend the lead to four points. The Seahawks again went to the line, and again only made one of two to cut the lead to three. That was as close as they would get as the Dragons took control and extended the lead down the stretch.

Massenat was outstanding in the second half. The senior scored 19 of his game-high 30 in the second half and finished the game with eight assists and no turnovers. Massenat was 8-for-11 from the floor overall and 14-for-18 from the line. Fouch added 14 points, was perfect from the line in six attempts and made two of his three three-point attempts.

Drexel dug itself a big hole in the first half. The Dragons trailed by just one at 14-13, but UNCW went on a 6-0 run to extend the lead to seven. That lead grew to as many as 14 with 1:35 to play when C.J. Gettys converted a three-point play. The teams went to the locker rooms with UNCW ahead comfortably, 40-27. The Seahawks came into the game last in the CAA in three-point percentage, but nailed three of their five attempts in the first half and shot 59 percent overall in the half. Drexel turned the ball over seven times in the half, which led to 14 UNCW points. The Dragons entered the game third in the nation in turnovers per game.

Drexel shot 78 percent from the free throw line and missed just two of its 18 attempts in the second half. The Seahawks hurt themselves at the line, converting just 13-for-24 from the stripe (.542). The Dragons shot a season-best 58 percent from the field, despite playing with a new starting line-up once again. Mohamed Bah made his first career start in place of the injured Goran Pantovic, who was hurt in practice. Bah responded with eight points and seven rebounds. The freshman made all four of his field goal attempts.

Craig Ponder led UNCW with 16 points. He was 7-for-9 from the floor but just 1-for-6 from the line. Chris Dixon added 13 and Cedrick Williams chipped in with 11.

The Dragons return to Philadelphia to face Delaware on Monday night. The game begins at 7 p.m. and can be seen live on the NBC Sports Network.