Quick Report: Elon 83, Drexel 78

Rodney Williams (above, in December) had 19 points as Drexel lost 83-78 to Elon on Saturday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Drexel put up a good fight but couldn’t get pick up its first win of the Colonial Athletic Association conference season, falling 83-78 at Elon on Saturday afternoon.

At First…
Elon dominated the first 15 minutes of the game, taking a 31-13 lead on a Steven Santa Ana jumper with 5;22 remaining in the first half. But Drexel responded well to close out the period, utilizing an 11-0 run to trail by 36-28 at the half.

The second half was largely a tug-of-war, as Elon would extend its advantage back to 15 out of the break but Drexel got it back to seven with 11:34 remaining. It then fluctuated between eight and 13 points until the final minute of play, when a triple by Tavon Allen got Drexel within 80-76 with 26 seconds to play.

Turning Point…
Drexel was able to force two Elon turnovers in the final 61 seconds to help them cut the lead down to four twice, but they couldn’t get a final one; Tanner Samson hit two foul shots with 25 seconds left to push the advantage to six, and Drexel could manage only a pair of Terrell Allen foul shots in response before taking 12 seconds to foul Elon. Samson’s final foul shot with seven seconds left was the last point of the game.

Standout Stars…
Samson, a 6-4 senior, finished with 19 points to lead the Phoenix, though he shot 5-of-15 overall. Right behind him was 6-4 freshman Steven Santa Ana, who had 18 points on 7-of-11, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Tyler Seibring, a 6-8 freshman forward, finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Junior forward Rodney Williams and senior wing Tavon Allen paced Drexel with 19 points apiece, while sophomore guard Sammy Mojica had 14.

Noteworthy Number(s)...
17: Elon assists on 27 baskets, compared to Drexel’s eight assists on 25 baskets. Coming into the game, the Dragons had assists on 51.3 percent of their baskets, which is 201st in the country, according to KenPom. Elon’s 57.8 percent assist rate is 71st.

60: The combined number of foul shots; Elon got to the line 31 times, making 18 (58.1 percent), while Drexel was 23-of-29 (79.3 percent). The Phoenix made up for it by shooting 49.1 percent overall (27-of-55) and 47.8 percent from 3-point range (11-of-23), compared to 37.3 percent overall (25-of-67) and 41.7 percent from three (5-of-12) for the Dragons.

Up Next....
Drexel (2-11, 0-2 CAA) vs. William & Mary (Jan. 7, 7 PM)
Elon (10-5, 1-1 CAA) @ James Madison (Jan. 7, 7 PM)