Dragons' Comeback Bid Falls Short Saturday to Towson, 69-65

Saturday, February 11

Daskalakis Athletic Center

4:00

Drexel University

9-18 (3-11CAA)

Towson

17-10 (9-5CAA)

Towson

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Dragons' Comeback Bid Falls Short Saturday to Towson, 69-65

2/11/2017 5:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOX SCORE (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel men's basketball team's comeback bid fell short Saturday evening at the Daskalakis Athletic Center as the Towson Tigers came away with the 69-65 victory. Drexel falls to 9-18 (3-11 CAA), while Towson improves to 17-10 (9-5 CAA).

The Dragons erased an 11-point, second-half Towson lead with a 13-2 run to tie the game at 59-59 with 4:03 left to play. Drexel would take its first, and what would prove to be only, lead of the second half 90 seconds later when Kurk Lee hit one of two from the line to pull ahead, 62-61. Lee finished with a game-high 18 points, 15 of which were scored in the second frame, including three triples, and had five assists and two steals. The Tigers turned to senior John Davis, a Philadelphia native playing his final game in his hometown, on the next possession, and he knocked down the jumper with 2:19 to play to retake the lead. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Lee would cut a four-point deficit to two with 14 seconds to play, but despite the Dragons' opportunities, Towson would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way en route to the 69-65 win.

Despite trailing by five at halftime, the Dragons hung around early in the second half. Towson extended the lead to seven with a quick bucket from Arnaud William Adala Moto, who was held in check with just four points in 16 minutes of play, but the Dragons would tie the game at 37-37 three minutes later on a Sammy Mojica free throw. Mojica, who finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals, but also had six turnovers, was much more of a factor in the first half. With the score tied 39-39 with 15:50 on the clock, Towson would go on an 18-7 burst over the next near seven minutes to the 9:06 mark to go ahead by 11 points.

From the opening tip, Drexel grew a lead to as many as six points six minutes into the game, as Mojica found success getting to the rim. Towson did a strong job at cutting off the Dragons from feeding Austin Williams and Rodney Williams on the low block. Rodney Williams was forced to get creative in the first half, hitting a deep two and a three. He finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Austin Williams had 10 points and six rebounds. Towson would use a 9-0 run to flip a five-point Drexel lead at 9:46 to a 22-18 advantage its way at 7:33. The Tigers would hold the lead until late in the second half.

The Tigers played their signature physical style, and outrebounded the Dragons, 41-31, led by Alex Thomas with 14. Drexel did not have the shooting night it would have needed to knock off Towson, going just 25 for 61 (41 percent) from the floor and 5 for 23 (26.1 percent) from deep. Towson shot nearly 52 percent in the second half. The Dragons forced 15 Towson turnovers, but gave the ball back themselves a dozen times.

The Dragons will make the short trip to rival Delaware on Thursday night before returning home Saturday afternoon for a matchup with Elon.