City of Basketball Love

Adam Hermann (@AdamWHermann)
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Drexel remained winless in the Colonial Athletic Association, falling to 2-12 on the year in a 72-63 loss to visiting William & Mary on Thursday evening.

At First…
The Dragons leaned heavily on points in the paint for the first nine minutes. Kazembe Abif hit his first three shots, and Drexel took a 16-9 lead over the Tribe. But William & Mary responded with an eye-opening 21 unanswered points to take a double-digit lead into the half.

Drexel opened the second half with an 8-2 run, but Terry Tarpey scored 10 quick points to quell any comeback attempts from Bruiser Flint’s squad.

Turning Point…
Without a doubt, the game hinged on William & Mary's 21-point run in the first half.

At the second media timeout, the Dragons held a seven-point advantage. Out of the timeout, Tony Shaver switched to a zone defense, which baffled Bruiser Flint’s offense. Drexel hit four of its last 12 field goal attempts of the half after burying seven of its first 10, opening the door for Shaver’s squad to seize momentum.

The Tribe out-scored the Dragons, 35-11, in the final 11:18 of the first half, piloted by 14 points from Daniel Dixon and 11 points from Terry Tarpey.

Standout stars…
Tarpey scored the Tribe’s first 10 points of the second half and finished with a game-high 21 points on 13 shots. Teammate Daniel Dixon added 19, including three three-pointers.

Sammy Mojica and Rodney Williams led the Drexel offense with 13 points apiece, while Kazembe Abif scored 10 points on seven shots.

Noteworthy numbers…
0: The number of offensive rebounds the Dragons pulled down in the first half. They grabbed just seven rebounds total, to William & Mary’s 18, in the first frame.

13: Bench points for Drexel. Tavon Allen scored the team’s first bench points with 7:03 left in the game.

21: Points scored off turnovers by the Tribe, including 14 in the second half, turning the Dragons’ sloppy play into a sizable advantage.

Up next…
Drexel (2-12, 0-3) vs. College of Charleston (1/9, 4 p.m.)
William & Mary (10-4, 2-1) vs. Northeastern (1/9, 4 p.m.)