Drexel Comes Up Just Short Against La Salle, 71-68

Saturday, November 16

Philadelphia, Pa.

2 p.m.

Drexel University

2-2,0-0CAA

La Salle

4-0,0-0Atlantic 10

La Salle

Drexel

Drexel Comes Up Just Short Against La Salle, 71-68

11/16/2024 5:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Drexel rallied from a 16-point deficit but fell just short in a 71-68 loss to La Salle in a Big 5 game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Drexel (2-2) had the ball, down one in the closing seconds, but committed a turnover as the Explorers (4-0) escaped with a three-point win.

All five Drexel starters scored in double figures. Jason "Deuce" Drake scored 15 of his career-high 18 points in the second half and had three 3-pointers. Victor Panov also had a career-high. The junior transfer was 7-for-10 shooting with 15 points. Cole Hargrove had another huge game inside for DU. The Norristown native had his second straight double-double with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Hargrove also had four assists and blocked three shots.

Drexel got right back into the game early in the second half after trailing by 12 at intermission. The Dragons opened the second half with a 13-3 run, which including 10 straight points at one point to make it a two-point game. La Salle was able to hold the lead for most of the second half.

The Dragons tied it for the first time since the opening seconds of the game with 3:31 to play. Hargrove grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it to Drake, who drained a 3-pointer, evening the score at 65-65. After an Explorer bucket, the Dragons took their only lead of the game at 68-67. Hargrove once again grabbed an offensive board and fired a pass to Kobe MaGee, who nailed a trey from the top of the key with 1:30 to go.

La Salle took the lead for good with just 22 seconds to play. Corey McKeithan missed a jumper, but got the offensive rebound and found Demetrius Lilley in the paint for a lay-up. After a timeout, the Dragons had the final look. Yame Butler drove in from the right wing and threw a contested bounce pass that Shane Blakeney could not handle and La Salle went home with its 11^th straight win in the DAC.

La Salle started the game out strong and used an early 10-0 run to take a 16-point lead at one point. The Dragons eventually cut into the lead with a 12 -3 run, making it 31-25 with 3:49 to play in the first half. However, the Explorers answered by making their final five shots of the opening stanza to extend their lead to 43-31. La Salle, who came into the game averaging six 3-pointers a game, was 7-for-15 from long range in the first half alone.

Jahlil White led La Salle with 19 points. McKeithan added 17 points, 15 of them coming in the first half. Lilley finished with a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Explorers.

The Dragons shot 45 percent from the floor, but didn't help themselves at the charity stripe. Drexel was just 4-for-11 from the line, missed its final four in the final five minutes. On the other end, the Dragons defense played well in the second half, holding the Explorers to just 28 points and 35 percent shooting. La Salle was 11-for-12 from the line.

Drexel will be away from home the rest of the month. The stretch begins with a road game at Fairfield on Tuesday night, The Dragons will then visit Fordham before playing in the Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach, Fla.