Dragons Hang on to Beat Elon in the CAA Championships Opening Round, 57-56

Friday, March 4

Baltimore, Md.

6:00

Drexel University

6-24

Elon

16-16

#9 Drexel

#8 Elon

Photo by: Colonial Athletic Association

Dragons Hang on to Beat Elon in the CAA Championships Opening Round, 57-56

3/4/2016 7:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Freshman point guard Terrell Allen hit a pull-up jumper from the foul line with 25 seconds left for what proved to be the game-winner as the ninth-seeded Drexel men's basketball team hung on to beat the eighth-seeded Elon Phoenix on Friday night at Royal Farms Arena, 57-56.

The Dragons let a 17-point lead slip away as Elon flipped it into a 55-51 lead with 5:51 left. However, they would hold the Phoenix to just a free throw the rest of the way. Elon missed its final six shots. First Rodney Williams hit a free throw before Kazembe Abif scored on a lay-in with 2:49 left to cut Elon's lead to 55-54. Abif would then tie it at 55-all with a free throw before Elon's Luke Eddy put the Phoenix back up one with a free throw with 56 seconds to play. On the ensuing possession, Drexel called timeout after the ball went out of bounds off a Sammy Mojica miss. Out of the timeout, Terrell Allen dribbled to his right off the screen at the top of the key, hung and hit the pull-up from the foul line to put the Dragons ahead, 57-56. The shot would prove to be the game-winner after Eddy, who led the Phoenix with 11 points, missed a jumper out of an Elon timeout. Mojica secured the rebound -- and the win -- off the miss.

Coming into the game, Elon was the only team to have scored 80 on the Dragons twice in the season. Drexel controlled the pace and held an Elon squad that came in making 9.6 threes per game to just four on 28.6 shooting. The Dragons went 6 of 13 from beyond the arc, led by Tavon Allen, who hit five threes, a Drexel record in CAA Championships play, en route to his game-high 17 points. Elon's leading scorer Tanner Samson, who came in averaging 12.1 points per game, was held to two points and no field goals.

The Dragons jumped on the Phoenix from the opening tip, going on a 10-0 run before Elon called a timeout at 16:30. Drexel would continue to extend the run up to 18-2 at the 13:04 after Tavon Allen hit one of his four first-half threes. After a Mohamed Bah dunk extended the Drexel lead to 17 points, Elon would close the gap to 13 by the time the halftime buzzer sounded. The Dragons shot nearly 48 percent in half -- and 42 percent in the game -- despite missing their last five field goal attempts.

Drexel's struggles continued into the second half, as the Dragons missed three more field goals before Tavon Allen finally broke the drought with a mid-range jumper three minutes in. However, Elon had already climbed back to cut the deficit to single digits with a 13-3 run to the 17:30 mark. The Phoenix then used a separate 6-0 burst to move within two, before a Steven Santa Ana three gave Elon its first lead of the game, 44-43 at the 11:20 mark. Drexel then used a 6-0 burst of its own to retake a five-point lead, helped by an and-one by Rodney Williams, who finished just short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Drexel would get just one field goal over the next six minutes, though, as Elon took the 55-51 lead before the Dragons again battled back.

Terrell Allen had 11 points and three steals, fresh off of being named to the CAA All-Rookie team on Thursday night. Abif also added eight points and six boards in the winning effort. Mohamed Bah played eight minutes off the bench for head coach Bruiser Flint and tallied six points and four rebounds.

The Dragons will now square off against top-seeded Hofstra on Saturday at noon.