Dragons Fall in Season-Opener at Pitt

Saturday, November 28

Pittsburgh, Pa.

1 p.m.

Drexel University

0-1,0-0CAA

Pittsburgh

1-1,0-0ACC

Drexel

Pittsburgh

Photo by: Matthew Hawley / ACC

11/28/2020 4:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PITTSBURGH – The Drexel men's basketball had its season-opener spoiled by the Pitt Panthers on Saturday in Pittsburgh, 83-74. Camren Wynter scored 24 points to lead four players in double figures scoring, but the Panthers held the lead wire-to-wire and held off a second half fun to pick up the win at the Peterson Events Center.

Pitt appeared in control of the game, but the Dragons continued to show fight and slowly chipped away at a lead that once stood at 16 early in the second half. The Dragons scored six straight points, four by Wynter and then a dunk by T.J. Bickerstaff, to cut the Panthers' lead down to five points with 7:33 to play in the game. The Panthers answered with a Xavier Johnson three-pointer and held the Dragons at bay the rest of the way.

Wynter, an All-CAA Preseason First Team selection, showed why with his performance against Jeff Capel's team. The junior was 10-for-16 from the floor, had five boards, four assists and three steals. Bickerstaff had his most impressive game as a Dragon. The sophomore poured in a career-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds. Zach Walton chipped in with 13 points, while James Butler scored 11 and had a team-best eight rebounds. Drexel scored 48 points in the paint and narrowly outrebounded Pitt, 29-26.

Johnson had a game-high 27 points for the Panthers. Au'Diese Toney added 20 points, while Justin Champagnie scored 19 as Pitt shot 62 percent from the floor in the game. The Dragons were able to neutralize the Panthers' long-distance game. Pitt shot just 5-for-19 (.263) from behind the arc.

The Panthers went inside early and often against the Dragons right out of the gate. Pitt opened the game by making 10 of its first 11 shots as the Dragons had a hard time controlling Pitt's inside game early. The Panthers eventually cooled off a little, but still shot 64 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Johnson and Champagnie each scored 12 points in the opening frame. The Dragons were able to stay in the game by shooting 48 percent in the half. Drexel had a fairly balanced attack in the first half as four of the five starters had at least six points. T.J. Bickerstaff led the way with nine points. Wynter picked up two early fouls but was still able to score seven points in 14 minutes.

First-year players Amari Williams, Lamar Oden, Jr. and Xavier Bell each made their Drexel debuts in the game. All three players played six minutes off the bench.

The Dragons are off until Wednesday evening when they play the first of two games in Bubbleville at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. Drexel will play Quinnipiac on Wednesday night at 5:30 and then will face Bryant on Thursday at noon before returning home.