Jonsson's Career Night Leads Drexel Past High Point, 78-72

Saturday, December 3

High Point, N.C.

7:00

Drexel University

4-4

High Point

4-4

Drexel

High Point

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Jonsson's Career Night Leads Drexel Past High Point, 78-72

12/3/2016 9:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score

High Point, N.C. – Kari Jonsson scored a career-high 25 points as Drexel defeated High Point on the road on Saturday night, 78-72. Four Dragons had at least 12 points as Drexel won for the second straight outing and improved to 4-4 on the season.

Jonsson hit a three-pointer with 6:15 to play to give the Dragons a 60-58 lead. That started a 10-1 run that gave Drexel an eight-point lead. That lead shrunk to just three points after a pair of High Point (4-4) free throws and a three-pointer by Miles Bowman, Jr. with only 1:19 to play. Drexel came down court and Kurk Lee sank a three-pointer from the left wing, getting the lead back to six with just :48 remaining. Bowman answered with a three-point play with 34 ticks left on the clock. The Panthers fouled Miles Overton, who calmly sank both, and then went to Bowman again and this time he sank a long three-pointer making it a 74-72 contest. After a timeout, Drexel got the ball in to Overton, who was once again fouled. The junior who played just 30 miles down the street at Wake Forest two years ago, sank two more free throws to give the Dragons a four-point lead with nine seconds to go. High Point forced the issue with another three-point attempt, but Overton got a piece of it and Drexel escaped with a hard earned road win.

In the opening minutes of the contest, Drexel opened up a 10-point lead as Jonsson drained three three-pointers in the first four minutes. High Point had a 5-0 run midway through the half to get it to a two possession game and it stayed in that neighborhood for most of the half. The Panthers Miles Bowman was assessed a technical foul with 3:16 to play and Overton converted one of the two free throws as the Dragons went up 33-27. The technical seemed to inspire the Panthers. They closed the half on an 8-2 run that was capped by a Jamal Wright three pointer and the teams went to their locker rooms tied at 35.

Jonsson finished the day 7-for-12 from behind the arc as he eclipsed his previous career-high of 15 points. Drexel's big men produced despite being plagued by foul trouble most of the night. Tyshawn Myles came up big in the second half, scoring all nine of his points over the final 20 minutes. He also grabbed a season-high nine rebounds. Austin Williams was again a factor on the boards, grabbing 12 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive end. Rodney Williams added 13 points before fouling out.

Kurk Lee was again a factor for the Dragons. The freshman scored 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting. He also handed out a career-best eight assists and snared six rebounds. Lee was pressured and hassled all night by the High Point defense. Overton finished with 12 points off the bench and was 7-for-8 from the line.

The Panthers forced 21 Drexel turnovers, but the Dragons shot 44 percent and were perfect from the line in the second half (9-for-9). Drexel held High Point to just 35 percent from the floor. Bowman led High Point with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Dragons will fly back to Philadelphia in the morning and will have more than a week off before playing another game. Drexel will host cross-town rival Saint Joseph's on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m.