Dragons Late Comeback Not Enough in 83-78 Loss at Elon

Saturday, January 2

Elon, N.C.

4:00

Drexel University

2-11, 0-2CAA

Elon

10-5, 1-1CAA

Drexel

Elon

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Dragons Late Comeback Not Enough in 83-78 Loss at Elon

1/2/2016 5:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Elon, N.C. – A late Drexel rally once again came up short as Elon defeated the Dragons, 83-78, in a Colonial Athletic Association game. Drexel is now 0-2 in the CAA and 2-11 overall. The Phoenix (10-5) evened its record at 1-1 in league play.

Rodney Williams scored 15 of his career-high 19 points in the second half to lead the Dragons. Williams had his way inside against the Phoenix, making seven of his 11 field goal attempts. Drexel got the deficit down to four points with 29 seconds to go when Tavon Allen nailed his fourth three-pointer of the game. Elon was able to ice the game as Tanner Samson made three of four free throws in the closing seconds.

Elon led by as many as 18 points in the first half as Drexel fell into a deep hole, due mainly to its lack of shooting. The Dragons made just three of their first 21 shots and suffered through a stretch of almost 10 minutes without a field goal. Drexel finally started having some of its shots fall late in the half. The team went on a 15-3 run to get back in the game and trailed at half by just eight despite shooting 25 percent in the first stanza.

Drexel played much better at times offensively in the second half after a slow start. The Dragons were 4-for-7 from behind the arc in the half and shot 49 percent in the final 20 minutes. On the other end of the court, however, the Phoenix went 14-for-27 from the floor in the second half. Overall for the game, Elon drained 11 three-pointers.

Tavon Allen tied Williams with a team-high 19 points. He was 4-for-5 from behind the arc but just 2-for-11 from inside of it. Sammy Mojica had 12 of his 14 points in the first half.Samson led the Phoenix with 19 points. He was held to just 2-for-9 shooting from deep. Steven Santa Ana proved to be the biggest thorn in the Dragons' side. He came off the bench for 18 points and was 4-for-6 from long range. Tyler Seibring finished with three treys and 14 points.

Drexel won the battle of the boards (44-37) and for the second straight game had a good night on the offensive end. The Dragons grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, seven by Williams. Five Dragons had at least six rebounds on the night.

The Dragons return home and will have a few days off before hosting their CAA opener on Thursday. Drexel will face William & Mary at 7 p.m.