Dragons Beat Rival Delaware, 74-64, Thursday for Back-to-Back Wins

Thursday, February 25

Daskalakis Athletic Center

6:00

Drexel University

5-23 (3-14CAA)

Delaware

7-21 (2-15CAA)

DELAWARE

DREXEL

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Dragons Beat Rival Delaware, 74-64, Thursday for Back-to-Back Wins

2/25/2016 7:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel men's basketball team used a second-half offensive outburst to down rival Delaware on Thursday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, 74-64.

Drexel (5-23, 3-14 CAA) shot 67 percent in the second half on its way to winning back-to-back games heading into its final regular-season game on Saturday. The Dragons are now 5-0 when leading with five minutes left in the game.

Tavon Allen put together a strong stretch run en route to finishing with 18 points, four assists and three rebounds. With just over two minutes remaining and the Dragons holding a 10-point lead, the senior recovered on defense to block a Kory Holden three-point attempt at the top of the key, gathered the loose ball near half-court and finished at the other end to give Drexel the momentum. Then on the ensuing Delaware possession, Allen swatted Marvin King-Davis' attempt in the lane. Terrell Allen would then hit both from the line the next time down the floor on offense, giving the Dragons their largest lead of the game, 66-52 with 1:35 to play, to all but seal the victory.

Down by one with 11:12 left, the Dragons used a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take an 11-point lead. The run was capped by Rashann London's three-pointer at the 7:26 mark that forced Delaware head coach Monte Ross to call a timeout. Each time Delaware would score, though, the Dragons would answer. Terrell Allen turned in a monster second half, netting 17 of his team-best 19 points after the intermission. The Dragons' reigning CAA Rookie of the Week and perhaps most consistent playmaker was limited to five minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls in the opening 3:38.

With the freshman struggling with foul trouble in the opening half, Drexel was forced to find other ways to distribute the ball. The Dragons ran the ball through Rodney Williams on the low block, and the big man capitalized, finishing with 15 points, six boards and four assists. London also stepped up while Allen was on the bench, dishing out three first-half assists of his own and finishing with seven points. For the game, Drexel assisted on 18 of 25 made field goals. Kazembe Abif was also able take advantage on the offense's focus on the interior, scoring 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year. He has now scored in double figures in nine of the last 11 games.

Drexel would outlast big nights from two of Delaware's top players. King-Davis scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting, and pulled down eight rebounds. Kory Holden, the Blue Hens' top scorer coming in, finished with 18 points and seven assists, but could muster only a 6-for-20 night from the field. While the Dragons got hot from the field in the second half, shooting 14-for-21, Delaware shot just 35 percent.

Tavon Allen was the primary player in the Dragons outscoring Delaware's bench 23-4 in the game. However, Austin Williams was also able to give Flint valuable minutes off the bench. The sophomore forward finished with a career-high five points and tied a career high with six rebounds in a season-high 18 minutes.

The Dragons will return to action at the DAC on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Northeastern on Senior Day in their final game before heading to Baltimore for the CAA Championships.