Dragons Drop Final Home Game on Senior Night to James Madison, 70-64

Thursday, February 23

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00

Drexel University

9-21 (3-14)

James Madison

9-21 (7-10CAA)

James Madison

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Dragons Drop Final Home Game on Senior Night to James Madison, 70-64

2/23/2017 8:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOX SCORE (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel men's basketball team could not hold on to a second-half lead Thursday in its 70-64 loss to the James Madison Dukes on Senior Night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Before the contest, Drexel (9-21, 3-14 CAA) honored seniors Mohamed Bah, Major Canady, Elgin Ford, Jr., John Moran and Rodney Williams as well as managers Talia Epstein and Hayley McKnight.

It was one of those seniors – Williams – along with a freshman Kurk Lee and junior Sammy Mojica who combined for 51 of the Dragons' 64 points on a combined 18-for-33 shooting. Both Lee and Mojica hit four threes apiece. Jackson Kent led the Dukes (9-21, 7-10 CAA) with 16 points and Tom Vodanovich tallied 15 first-half points in a more balanced scoring attack.

The Dragons held a 53-47 lead with 7:51 to play after Sam Green, who played 18 minutes with Drexel thin at guard, nailed a three. James Madison countered with a 9-2 burst, capped by a lay-in from Kent, to take a one-point advantage. After Lee hit two from the line to put the Dragons back up one with 5:42 left, though, the Dragons went scoreless over the next four minutes and 27 seconds before Williams got Drexel back on the board with a jumper. James Madison took advantage, going on an 8-0 run to go up seven, 64-57, with 1:44 left. The Dukes did not make a shot from the field over the final 5:20 of the game, but went 12-for-13 from the line over that span to close out the 70-64 win.

Drexel trailed by three after the half, 32-29, thanks to a buzzer-beater from James Madison's Ivan Lukic. The Dragons held a six-point first half lead on a Mojica jumper nearing the midway point, but could not contain Vodanovich as the Dukes clawed back to take lead at 2:28. The Dukes would get the first bucket of the second half, too, but Lee came back with five points of his own to tie the game at 34-34 just under three minutes in. Williams' free throws at 16:07 gave Drexel its first lead since the 3:41 mark of the first half. The Dragons were able to grow their lead out to as many as seven on a Mojica three with 10:11 left, but they could not hold on with a shallow bench.

Both sides shot 50 percent or better in the first half, but in the second half the Dukes shot 44 percent (11-25) while the Dragons could muster only a 33-percent clip (11-33). Despite making 10 threes in the game to James Madison's five, the Dragons were outshot from the line, as the Dukes went 15-20 to Drexel's 10-15. James Madison also held a 37-30 advantage on the glass, led by Ramone Snowden, who grabbed nine. Bah led Drexel with nine, while Williams pulled down seven.

Drexel will close out its regular-season conference slate Saturday evening at the College of Charleston.