Dragons Fall in Conference Opener at Northeastern, 93-83

Friday, December 28

Boston, Mass.

7 p.m.

Drexel University

6-8, 0-1CAA

Northeastern

7-6, 1-0CAA

Drexel

Northeastern

Dragons Fall in Conference Opener at Northeastern, 93-83

12/28/2018 8:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. – Troy Harper scored a career-high 28 points, but Drexel fell in its Colonial Athletic Association opener at Northeastern, 93-83. Vasa Pusica scored 29 points for the Huskies, who improved to 7-6. Drexel is now 6-8.

Drexel hung with the Huskies throughout the game and trailed by just two points at 68-66 after a Camren Wynter jump shot with just under eight minutes a game. The Dragons got a stop on the defensive end, but committed a turnover which led to a Shawn Occeus three-pointer to increase the lead to five. Drexel got it back to three points, but a late 8-0 run gave Northeastern all the cushion it would need down the stretch.

Harper, whose previous career-high was a 26-point performance when he played for Campbell, was 8-for-15 from the floor. He also made 10 of his 11 shots from the charity stripe and was 2-for-3 from deep. Wynter finished with 15 points to go along with four assists and two steals. Alihan Demir recorded his fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Drexel shots the ball well throughout the game and finished shooting 50 percent in the game. The Dragons made seven of their 17 long-range attempts.

The Huskies, who made their first six shots of the second half, shot 62 percent in the final frame and 56 percent overall. Pusica scored a game-high 29 points, 19 of them coming in the first half when he made seven of his 10 shots from the floor and nailed two three-pointers. Jordan Roland and Anthony Green each added 21 points as the Huskies had three player with 20 or more points for the first time since 2006. Green also had 11 rebounds to lead everyone.

Northeastern used a 10-0 run to take a 24-19 lead with 6:49 to play in the first half. The Huskies led the rest of the first half and went to intermission with a 41-36 lead. Harper had a big half for the Dragons, scoring 15 of his points in the half. He was 7-for-7 from the line in the first 20 minutes.

Drexel will continue its two-game road trip on Sunday afternoon at Hofstra. The Dragons and Pride tip-off at 4 p.m. The Pride opened league play with a convincing win against Delaware this evening.