Dragons Close Regular Season With Win at First Place JMU

Friday, February 26

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

Drexel University

9-7,4-5CAA

James Madison

13-6,8-2CAA

Drexel

James Madison

Photo by: Philip Hinds

Dragons Close Regular Season With Win at First Place JMU

2/26/2021 6:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Harrisonburg, Va. – Camren Wynter scored 18 points and handed out seven assists as Drexel knocked off first-place JMU (13-6, 8-2 CAA) in Harrisonburg on Friday afternoon, 84-78. The Dragons picked up their second road win in the last three outings and improved to 9-7 on the season. The Dragons will most likely be the sixth-seed in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association Championships. As of now, the Dragons will be playing the College of Charleston in the opening round of the tournament pending the health of all the teams that will play in Harrisonburg next week.

Drexel led for the entire second half, but the pesky Dukes made seven 3-pointers in the second half to cut a 10-point deficit down to two points. JMU made it a two-point game three times, but each time, the Dragons answered. Jalen Hodge nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to make the score 77-75 with just 1:07 to play. On the next possession, Luke House made his biggest shot in his brief time with the team. The transfer who became eligible mid-year drained a huge 3-pointer to give Drexel a five-point cushion with just 45 seconds to go. JMU did answer with another trey, but Wynter hit two free throws to clinch the win and send Drexel back to Philadelphia with the hard-earned road victory.

The Dragons had big contributions from a number of players. Wynter was once again outstanding despite missing a good portion of the second half due to foul trouble. He was 3-for-7 from deep and handed out seven assists. T.J. Bickerstaff scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half and had eight rebounds. Mate Okros, in his first action since returning from an injury, had one of the top 3-point shooting days in Drexel history. The sophomore became just the fifth player in school history to make all five of his 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points. Phil Goss made six 3-pointers in as many attempts against Hofstra in 2004. James Butler narrowly missed a double-double with 13 points and nine boards.

The Dragons played a solid first half and led by 10 points at intermission. Drexel's lead was seven with just three seconds to play after a pair of Dukes' free throws. However, Butler inbounded the ball under the Drexel basket and found Wynter with a baseball pass. Wynter was fouled in the act of attempting a 3-pointer and made all three of his free throws as Drexel headed into the locker room ahead, 43-33. Wynter finished the half with 13 points.

Drexel had another solid shooting night, making 49 percent of its shots. The Dragons were 12-for-28 from deep and sank all but one of their 17 free throw attempts. Vado Morse led the Dukes with 25 points, 18 of which came in the first half.