City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Drexel lost its third consecutive game to start the season Saturday, falling to Monmouth, 82-74.

The Dragons held a six-point halftime lead, but could not hang out. Rashann London led the Dragons with 20 points and Rodney Williams added 16.

At First…
Outside of a five-minute scoreless drought, Drexel had a solid first half. The Dragons shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and knocked down nine of 12 free throw attempts. Williams had a terrific first half, scoring 10 points and going 4-for-4 from the field before he had to go to the bench with four minutes left because of two personal fouls.

Turning point…
Micah Seaborn nailed a 3-pointer to put Monmouth up by nine with about eight minutes left. It came after Bruiser Flint already used a timeout to slow a Hawks’ run that the Dragons could not stop. In total, Monmouth went on a 15-5 spurt to go ahead 69-58. The game was tight until the stretch, and it was the first time in the contest that either team created separation.

Shining starts…
Williams was Drexel’s best player for most of the afternoon, fighting and converting down low. He hit six of his 10 field goals and went 4-for-7 from the line to get his 16 points, which were two off his career best. London, meanwhile, went 6-for-11 from the field and hit five 3-pointers. Kazembe Abif had a double-double for the Dragons, pulling in a game-best 13 boards and scoring 12 points.

For Monmouth, 5-foot-8 point guard Justin Robinson had a game-high 28 points (20 in the second half), using his quickness to his advantage all afternoon. Robinson went 10-for-17 from the field, and he added four assists.

Noteworthy numbers…
Drexel was improved at the foul line, but still not great. The Dragons, who went 14-for-28 from the line in Wednesday’s loss to High Point, went 17-for-27 (63 percent) against Monmouth. …Through three games, Drexel is allowing an average of 79.7 points per game.

Up Next…
Drexel (0-3) vs. UNC Asheville (11/26, Midnight)
Monmouth (2-1) vs. Notre Dame (11/26, 2 p.m.)