Lee's Late Three Gives Dragons 53-51 Win Over Charleston

Saturday, January 24

Daskalakis Athletic Center

12:00

Drexel University

5-14, 3-5CAA

College of Charleston

6-15, 1-7CAA

COLL. OF CHARLESTON

DREXEL

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Lee's Late Three Gives Dragons 53-51 Win Over Charleston

1/24/2015 2:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Philadelphia – Damion Lee nailed a game-winning three-pointer with 17 seconds to play to give Drexel a thrilling 53-51 win against the College of Charleston on Saturday afternoon. Drexel trailed for most of the game, but rallied late to earn the win on Homecoming at Drexel.

The Dragons (5-14, 3-5 CAA) trailed by four at 51-47 with 3:04 to play after Cameron Johnson nailed a three-pointer. Those would be the last points of the game for the College of Charleston (6-15, 1-7 CAA). Rashann London scored on a contested lay-in to trim the deficit to two points. Each team came up empty in their next two possessions. With just 46 ticks left on the clock, Evan Bailey missed a three-pointer, but Adjehi Baru came up with the rebound and was fouled by Sammy Mojica. Baru missed the front end of a one-and-one and Lee grabbed the defensive board. After Lee missed a jumper, Mojica grabbed the rebound and saved it off a Cougar defender on the sidelines. Drexel called time and set up a play. Mojica found Lee in front of the Drexel bench, and the junior sank the three, giving Drexel a 52-51 lead. Charleston had a possession and tried to get the ball inside. However, Drexel's Mohamed Bah picked off the bounce pass in the lane. The Cougars still had fouls to give and committed two of them right away. The seventh foul was committed against Bah with four seconds to play and the sophomore made one of two, giving the Dragons a 53-51 lead. The Cougars had one more chance as Cameron Barry grabbed Bah's miss and raced up court. His two-point attempt just inside of the arc came up short and the Dragons came away with a victory.

The Cougars held the lead for the final 14 minutes of the first half and the first nine minutes of the second half before the Dragons took their first second half lead. Drexel went on a 7-0 run to turn a 36-30 deficit into a 37-36 lead with 11:09 remaining. Lee started the run with two free throws. Tavon Allen got the next five points, the first with a lay-up off a Mojica feed and then a three pointer after an Austin Williams steal.

Charleston shot lights out from deep on the day. The Cougars were 9-for-13 from deep (69 percent), including 5-for-7 in the second half. Charleston went into halftime up by six after shooting 50 percent from the floor. The Drexel defense held the Cougars to just 23 points on 8-for-22 shooting (36 percent) in the final 20 minutes.

Lee finished with a game-high 21 points and made four three-pointers. Allen added 14 points and was 2-for-5 from long range. Mojica gave the Dragons a solid 27 minutes off the bench. The rookie had 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers, five rebounds and three steals. Barry led the Cougars with 16 points. Johnson scored 11 points, while Baru chipped in with seven points and eight rebounds.

The Dragons continue their homestand on Wednesday when Northeastern comes to the DAC. The Huskies are tied for the top spot in the CAA with a 6-2 mark. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.