Men's Basketball Downs UNCW, 85-76, Saturday for Third Straight Win

Saturday, January 31

Daskalakis Athletic Center

4:00

Drexel University

7-14, 5-5

UNCW

12-9, 7-3

UNCW

DREXEL

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Men's Basketball Downs UNCW, 85-76, Saturday for Third Straight Win

1/31/2015 6:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Philadelphia – Damion Lee scored 32 points and had 13 rebounds as Drexel defeated UNCW, 85-76. It was the third straight win for the Dragons and their fourth win in the last five games.

For the second straight game, the Dragons (7-14, 5-5 CAA) knocked off a team tied for the conference lead. UNCW (12-9, 7-3) entered the contest tied with William & Mary. On Wednesday, Drexel defeated Northeastern at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The visitors held a six-point lead with a little more than five minutes to play in the first half before the Dragons went on a 16-2 run to take the lead for good. With the game tied at 33-33, Sammy Mojica nailed a three-pointer and was fouled. He made the free throw to convert the four-point play. Tavon Allen then made both ends of a one-and-one and Mojica made a lay-up to put the Dragons ahead, 41-33. The Dragons went into the break ahead by a score of 43-35.

It looked as though Drexel would run away with the game and cruise down the stretch after taking a 19-point lead with 5:30 to play. However, the Seahawks scored 10 straight points in a span of 1:19 to make it 74-65. They were able to get as close as six points after a Jordon Talley three-pointer with 1:50 to go, but Drexel answered with five straight points to take home its fifth conference win of the year.

Drexel had by far its best offensive night of the season. The Dragons had season-highs of 85 points, 60 percent shooting from the floor and handed out 20 assists. Four different players scored at least 10 points for only the second time this year.

Lee posted his fourth game of at least 30 points and his second in a row. He scored his 32 points on only 14 shots from the floor as he finished 10-for-14 shooting. Lee was also 10-for-11 from the line and had his second double-double of the season. Mojica had another solid night off the bench. The freshman from Chelsea, Mass., scored a career-high 17 points and was 6-for-8 from the field. Tavon Allen added 13 points, five assists and no turnovers. The junior did a stellar job defensively on UNCW's Freddie Jackson, who was held without a field goal. Rodney Williams also had 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting.

UNCW was led by Craig Ponder's 22 points. Addison Spruill added 19 points, while Talley added 16 points. The Seahawks grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in the game and scored 20 second chance points. Jackson and Dylan Sherwood each had seven boards.

The Dragons play their next two games on the road. Drexel will play at Elon on Thursday night and will then travel to Charleston to face the Cougars on Saturday.