Dragons Conclude Season with CAA Quarterfinals Loss to Hofstra, 80-67

Saturday, March 5

Baltimore, Md.

12:00

Drexel University

6-25

Hofstra

23-8

Drexel

Hofstra

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Dragons Conclude Season with CAA Quarterfinals Loss to Hofstra, 80-67

3/5/2016 1:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BALTIMORE, Md. – The ninth-seeded Drexel men's basketball team's season concluded Saturday afternoon with an 80-67 loss to the top-seeded Hofstra Pride in the CAA Championships Quarterfinals at Royal Farms Arena.

The loss comes after the Dragons advanced to the quarters with a 57-56 win over Elon in opening round on Friday.

After taking a 13-point lead into halftime, Hofstra came out on a 7-0 run, capped by a Brian Bernardi three in the opening 90 seconds of the second half. Drexel responded with a 7-0 burst of its own, holding the Pride scoreless for a three-minute stretch. The Dragons continued chipping away, working the deficit down to single digits after a corner three from Tavon Allen with 9:40 to go. The lead would hover around 10 before Bernardi, Ameen Tanksley, Juan'ya Green each hit threes in consecutive possessions to give the Pride a 73-54 lead with just over five minutes to play. That run would finish off the Dragons, as they would ultimately fall, 80-67.

The Dragons fell into a hole early in the first half, and Hofstra would control the pace and keep them at an arm's length the rest of the way. From the tip, the game-plan was to feed Rodney Williams on the low block. Drexel's guards fed him, but he could not convert with consistency, hitting on 3 of 11 first-half shots. Williams was playing through foul trouble after picking up his second less than four minutes in. He would, however, re-enter the game at the 10:02 mark and play the rest of the way, finishing with a team-best 20 points on 8-for-21 shooting and 11 rebounds for this third double-double of the year.

Sammy Mojica was the only Drexel guard to get going from the field in the opening half, hitting two threes on his way to eight of his 10 points, including a corner three to cut the Pride's lead to six with 8:31 left to play. At the 6:45 mark of the first period, though, Williams drew Rokas Gustys' second foul. The All-CAA First teamer had been dominant until that point, tallying 11 points and eight rebounds. Even with Gustys on the bench, the Dragons could not find their way, as Juan'ya Green hit two threes as Hofstra went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes. The CAA Player of the Year finished with 13 of his 22 points in the first, and finished also with six points and four assists working as a facilitator, as the Pride took a 42-29 lead into the locker room.Gustys would finish with 16 points and 11 rebounds for his CAA-leading 20th double-double of the year in 20 minutes as he battled foul trouble.

Drexel point guard Terrell Allen finished with a career-high eight assists on the afternoon to go with a couple of threes, finishing with 107 assists in his freshman campaign. The Pride shot 48 percent from the field and hit nine threes, while Drexel countered with 41-percent shooting from the floor. Four Hofstra players scored in double figures, led by Green's 22 and Gustys' 16. Tanksley scored 13, while Bernardi added 14 points. Denton Koon finished with eight points and 10 boards.

With the loss, Drexel saw the careers of Tavon Allen, Kazembe Abif and Chandler Fraser-Pauls come to an end. Allen finished his career in the Blue and Gold with 1,249 career points, good for 20th all-time at Drexel. Abif, who had his mid-range jumper working on Saturday afternoon, closed out the year by scoring a career-high 18 points on 9-for-16 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.

Hofstra advances to the semifinals with the win and will play the winner of William & Mary and James Madison on Sunday at 1 p.m.