Charleston's Late Bucket Sinks Drexel, 47-46

Thursday, February 13

Charleston, S.C.

7:00

Drexel University

13-11, 5-6

College of Charleston

13-13, 5-6

Drexel

Coll. of Charleston

2/13/2014 8:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score
Box Score (PDF)

Charleston, S.C. – Willis Hall rebounded a blocked shot and scored on a fade away jumper with 3.8 seconds left to give the College of Charleston a 47-46 victory against Drexel on Thursday night at TD Arena in South Carolina.

The Cougars (13-13, 5-6 CAA) trailed by three after Frantz Massenat made a pair of free throws with :23 to go. They cut the deficit to just one at 46-45 when Joe Chealey sank a pair of free throws after being fouled by Major Canady. Charleston fouled immediately after scoring, which sent Massenat back to the line. The senior missed two crucial free throws and the Cougars got possession. Anthony Stitt attempted a three-pointer, but Tavon Allen got his hand on it. Unfortunately for the Dragons, Hall grabbed the deflection and made a tough shot to give the Cougars a 47-46 lead. After a Charleston timeout, the Dragons got the ball in to Chris Fouch, who raced up the court and got into the lane, where his running lay-up just missed as the home team escaped with a win.

The frustrating loss spoiled one of Drexel's best defensive efforts of the season. The Dragons held the Cougars to just 47 points, the lowest of any opponent this year, and Charleston shot just 32.7 percent from the floor. However, the Dragons had one of their worst games of the year from the line. Drexel was 12-for-25 in the game from the charity stripe and only 8-for-19 in the second half.

The Dragons trailed by as many as six points in the game, but came out strong in the second half. Charleston was held without a point for more than six minutes as the Dragons turned the deficit into a five-point lead with 8:31 remaining in the game. The game went back and forth until the closing minutes.

Neither team could muster much offense in the first half. The Dragons trailed by just two at 20-18 after a bucket by Tavon Allen with just under a minute left. However, the Cougars scored the last four points to take a 24-18 lead at intermission. Canyon Barry leaned in and drew a foul on Allen and was awarded three free throws. He made two of them and went back to the line for two more after a technical foul was assessed to the Drexel bench. Drexel shot just 26 percent in the first half. The College of Charleston had chances to be ahead by even more, but missed six free throws in the half. The two teams combined to go 0-for-12 from behind the arc.

Massenat led the team with 16 points, but shot just 5-for-14 from the floor. Tavon Allen had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Canyon Barry led the Cougars with 10 points, despite shooting 2-for-9 from the floor.

The Dragons will make the long bus trip back to Philadelphia in the morning. They will return to the court on Sunday when they host Hofstra at 8 p.m. in a game that can be seen on Comcast Sports Network. It will be the nightcap of a doubleheader, as the women host James Madison at 5:30.