Men's Basketball Takes Down College of Charleston Saturday, 61-54

Saturday, January 9

Daskalakis Athletic Center

4:00

Drexel University

3-12, 1-3CAA

College of Charleston

10-5, 2-2CAA

COLL. OF CHARLESTON

DREXEL

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Men's Basketball Takes Down College of Charleston Saturday, 61-54

1/9/2016 5:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel men's basketball team earned its first conference win of the season Saturday with a 61-54 victory of the College of Charleston at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

Drexel (3-12, 1-3 CAA) used the kind of hard-nosed defensive effort that Bruiser Flint's teams are known for to earn the victory. The Dragons, who are now 3-0 this season when holding opponents under 60 points, were able to hold Charleston without a field goal for the final 5:17 of the first half and go on a 16-1 run from 4:47 mark into the opening minutes of the second half to build a lead to as many as 10. The Cougars got within two points with 4:37 to play, but Drexel responded with five straight to take control for the win.

The Dragons were able to capitalize on their opportunities from the line to seal the win. With just over four minutes remaining, Tavon Allen was fouled shooting a three-pointer and hit all three shots from the charity stripe. The next time down the floor, Allen was fouled again and knocked down two free throws to extend the Drexel lead back to seven. Allen went a perfect 6-for-6 and scored 11 points, and Terrell Allen scored nine of his 11 points from the line. The Dragons went 28-for-35, while Charleston went just 7-for-11.

In the first half, the Cougars started out hot, hitting their first three shots from deep. The Dragons played tough defense after the under-16 media timeout, forcing Charleston to rush shots at the end of the shot clock. The Dragons would not let Charleston run away with the game, though, keeping their deficit no higher than six. Rodney Williams was a major factor in keeping the deficit in check, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the first half. The junior forward has scored in double digures in all four conference games this season.

The Dragons countered late in the half, again using their defense to create opportunities. Up 27-21 with 4:47 to go in the first frame, Charleston was held to just one made free throw the rest of the way. The Dragons ended the half on a 10-1 run, which they would carry over into the second half and extend to a 16-1 burst. The Cougars were held without a field goal for nearly eight minutes before a Jarrell Brantley layup at the 17:38 mark in the second half ended the drought.

Charleston played without its leading scorer. Canyon Barry, who is averaging a team-high 19.7 points per game this season, was out because of an injury. Without Barry on the floor, Payton Hulsey was the only Cougar to score in double figures. He had 11 points. Charleston's talented freshman Brantley, who came in averaging 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds, was held to nine points and four boards.

The Dragons, on the other hand, were able to find shots inside the three-point arc and draw fouls. Not only did they shoot 80-percent from the line, they also scored 24 points in the paint and recorded assists on 11 of their 16 made field goals. Sammy Mojica dished out five assists to go with his eight points. Drexel also used its physicality, and the fact that Brantley and Charleston's 6-foot-10 big man Nick Harris, battled foul trouble all game long, to earn a 29-26 advantage on the glass. Ter. Allen led the team with six boards.

Drexel will now play its next three away from Philadelphia, beginning Thursday night at Hofstra.