Dragons Prevail Against Towson in Overtime, 73-66

Saturday, February 11

Philadelphia, Pa.

2 p.m.

Drexel University

15-11,9-5CAA

Towson

17-9,9-4CAA

OT 1

Towson

Drexel

Dragons Prevail Against Towson in Overtime, 73-66

2/11/2023 4:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Drexel Stays Unbeaten at the DAC in CAA Play

PHILADELPHIA - Luke House scored eight of his 18 points in overtime as Drexel defeated Towson, 73-66, at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Saturday. Lamar Oden, Jr. scored a career-high 19 points, while Yame Butler added 16 points as the Dragons (15-11) moved to 9-5 in Colonial Athletic Association play. They are now 7-0 at the DAC in CAA contests. The Tigers, who had won seven of their last eight, fell to 17-9 overall and 9-4 in league play.

The teams went to the extra period tied at 56. They swapped buckets on two occasions before the Tigers took a four-point lead after a pair of Nicolas Timberlake free throws with 1:59 to play. Drexel then rattled off nine straight points to take the lead. Oden sank a pair of free throws and after a defensive stop, Butler made a strong move just outside the block, made the basket and was fouled. He made the free throw giving Drexel a 65-64 advantage. Drexel got two straight stops and House was fouled after each. He sank all four of his freebies, giving the Dragons a five-point lead. Holden scored with 17 seconds to play as the Tigers moved to within one possession. After a timeout, Drexel got the ball in to House, who sank two more free throw. Oden sealed the deal with two free throws of his own as the Dragons picked up the victory despite playing without Justin Moore, Coletrane Washington and Jamie Bergens.

The Dragons led for most of the second half. Amari Williams sank two free throws at the 12:28 mark to give Drexel a 44-37 advantage. The Dragons would keep that lead until the final minutes of regulation. Drexel was ahead 56-51 with 3:03 to play, but Towson would not go away. The Tigers closed the half on a five-point run and tied it up when Cameron Holden sank two free throws with just under two minutes to go. Neither team could score the rest of the way. Towson had possession late but committed a shot clock violation with 4.4 seconds to play. Drexel had one last chance and got the ball to House. He crossed over half court and his desperation 3-pointer from about 40 feet looked good, but hit the back of the rim and the teams went to overtime.

Towson jumped out to a 9-2 lead early, but the Dragons took the lead at 17-15 midway through the first half. The game would remain close the rest of the way. The biggest lead for each team was just seven points in a game that featured 12 lead changes and eight ties.

Oden picked up his second career double-double with 12 rebounds to go with his 19 points. House was 6-for-6 from the stripe and had three blocked shots. Butler, who appeared in just nine games heading into the week, had his second big game in the win. He finished with 16 points, one shy of his career-high set on Wednesday, and was 6-for-11 from the floor. Williams picked up his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The junior also had four rejections, all of them coming in the second half and in overtime. The Dragons finished the day shooting 45 percent from the floor and 95 percent (20-for-21) from the charity stripe. They were a perfect 11-for-11 from the line in the extra period as they improved to 3-0 in CAA play.

Cameron Holden had a big day for the Tigers. Holden scored a game-high 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists. Nicolas Timberlake and Charles Thompson each added 14 points. Towson entered the game second in the CAA in rebound margin, but were outrebounded by the Dragons, 36-27.

The Dragons will be off on Sunday and return to action on Monday. Drexel will visit first-place Hofstra at 7 p.m.