Dragons Rally to Defeat Hofstra at the DAC, 79-77

Thursday, February 15

Philadelphia, Pa.

7 p.m.

Drexel University

16-10,9-4CAA

Hofstra

15-11,8-5CAA

Hofstra

Drexel

Dragons Rally to Defeat Hofstra at the DAC, 79-77

2/15/2024 9:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Drexel rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat Hofstra on Thursday night at the DAC, 79-77. Jamie Bergens tied a career-high with 16 points and Lucas Monroe scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half as the Dragons snapped a four-game losing streak to their CAA rivals. Tyler Thomas scored 34 points, but his 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the rim as Drexel (16-10, 9-4) won for the 10^th straight time at the DAC.

The Dragons trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, but opened the second half on a 9-2 run, keyed by Monroe. The graduate student had eight points in the first three minutes of the final frame. Drexel briefly grabbed the lead on a Justin Moore jumper with 13:18 to play, but Hofstra (15-11, 8-5) responded as Thomas put the Pride on his back. The CAA Player of the Year candidate scored seven straight points for Hofstra at one point in the second half to give the Pride a 64-59 lead with 7:18 remaining.

However, the momentum of the game changed moments later. Mate Okros was credited with a bucket on a goaltending call and Thomas was assessed a technical for slamming the ball to the ground. Okros went to the line and made two free throws and the four point possession cut the deficit to one. After a Thomas missed 3-pointer, Kobe MaGee sank one of his own with 6:26 to play to give Drexel the lead for good. The teams exchanged two free throws and then on Drexel's next possession, Bergens drained a desperation 3-pointer from the Dragon logo as the shot clock expired as the lead grew to five points.

The Dragons got the lead to as much as eight points with 1:43 to play, but Hofstra would not go away. Darlinstone Dubar sank a 3-pointer and then Hofstra immediately fouled Amari Williams. The senior missed the one-and-one which led to another Thomas 3-point attempt. He missed, but was fouled, and then sank all three as the Pride all of a sudden cut the lead down to just two points with 1:11 remaining. Luke House was then called for an offensive foul, giving the Pride a chance to take the lead. Jacco Fritz got the ball inside with 35 seconds left, but was rejected by Williams. Bergens got the board, was fouled and made two free throws, which put Drexel ahead by four. Each team went 1-for-2 from the line in the next two possessions before Thomas drained a long trey with 11 ticks on the clock, making it 78-77. Hofstra immediately fouled Justin Moore, who made the first but missed the second free throw. The Pride came down court and tried for the win. Jaquan Carlos' pass to Thomas in the corner was deflected by Williams, but Thomas secured it and just missed sending the DAC faithful home disappointed. Instead, Drexel defeated the Pride in Philadelphia for the first time since 2017.

Williams also had 14 points in the game for Drexel and became the 40^th player in Drexel history to reach the 1,000-point mark. He sank a free throw at the 13-minute mark to eclipse 1,000 points. Monroe finished the night 6-for-8 from the floor and tied a career-high with his 14 points. Bergens played one of his best games in a Drexel uniform. He was 5-for-8 from the floor, had two 3-pointers and was perfect from the line in four attempts. Bergens also handed out three assists without committing a turnover. Drexel shot 62 percent in the second half and ended the night 8-for-15 from long range. MaGee was 3-for-3 from deep and had nine points.

Thomas played the entire game for Hofstra. He was 12-for-23 from the floor and also led the Pride with six rebounds and six steals. Jacco Fritz was the only other Hofstra player in double figures with 11 points. Hofstra lit it up in the first half, making 68 percent of its shots. Drexel held the Pride to just 36 percent over the final 20 minutes.

Drexel closes out its brief homestand on Saturday afternoon. Campbell makes its first ever appearance at the DAC for a CAA game at 2 p.m.