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Quick Report: Drexel 91, Quinnipiac 74

12/21/2016, 8:45pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Drexel coach Zach Spiker (above) watched his Dragons even their record at 6-6 with a win over Quinnipiac. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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HAMDEN, Conn. -- Displaying an offensive outburst that hasn’t been seen for quite some time, Drexel scored more points than it has in nearly three years, running past Quinnipiac for a 91-74 victory at TD Bank Sports Center on Wednesday night.

At First…
In a matchup between two teams that have no trouble pushing tempo and looking for early shots, Drexel had no qualms with the quick pace early on, jumping out to a 23-12 lead after back-to-back buckets by Rodney Williams nearly eight minutes into the game. Quinnipiac responded with a 13-1 run to take its first lead at 29-28 with 6:34 to play, but Drexel had a response of its own with nine straight to lead the way to a 51-41 lead at the half.

Turning Point…
On Drexel’s final possession of the first half, freshman guard Kurk Lee, Jr. drove through the Quinnipiac defense and somehow found freshman Kari Jonsson open on the perimeter for a 3-pointer. The Dragons rode that momentum through the half, pushing the lead slowly but surely to begin the second period. Another Jonsson 3-pointer made it 60-47 with 16:55 left, and a triple by Lee four minutes later began a 7-0 run that left the Dragons holding a 70-51 lead with 11:28 to play.

Quinnipiac got as close as 13 in the final four minutes, but a tremendous baseline driving dunk by Rodney Williams and an alley-oop slam from Austin Williams made sure the Bobcats didn't get any closer.

Standout Stars…
Jonsson assisted on three of his team’s first four buckets and made the other, kicking off a terrific game for the 6-foot-3 guard from Iceland. The fourth and final member of this year’s recruiting class -- the second brought in by Zach Spiker after assuming the job, along with fellow start Kurk Lee, Jr. -- has been far from an afterthought this season. He finished with 17 points and a career-high eight assists against just one turnover. Rodney Williams scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to lead four Drexel players in double figures, adding in six rebounds as well.

Quinnipiac was also led by a freshmen, as Sanford School (Del.) product Mikey Dixon poured in 20 points in 27 minutes off the bench, finishing one off his career high. 

Noteworthy Number(s)...
31: Jonsson has been Drexel’s most reliable 3-point option this season, knocking down a team-high 31 long-range shots on 72 attempts, a nice 43.1 percent conversion rate. Entering Wednesday night, he was eighth in the CAA in 3-point percentage; after his stellar performance against Quinnipiac, he should be in the top five.

2514: It had been six years, 10 months and 19 days since Drexel last hit 90 points in a regulation college basketball game, more than 2500 days since a 97-55 win over Towson back on Feb. 2, 2010. The Dragons also hit the mark in a 93-88 win over Northeastern on Jan. 11, 2014, a span of 1,075 days.

7: Quinnipiac has developed a reputation under head coach Tom Moore as one of the top rebounding teams in the country, leading the nation in rebounding margin in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and leading the nation in offensive boards per game last year. But the Dragons dominated the glass all game long, winning the rebound battle 42-35 and grabbing 17 offensive rebounds on 35 opportunities.

2: Drexel’s first 12 games of the season have consisted of six pairs of wins and losses. After opponent the season 0-2, they went 2-0 to even their record, and have since alternated two wins and two losses to again even their record at 4-4 and now 6-6.

Up Next…
Drexel (6-6) @ Penn (4-5) -- Wed., Dec. 28, 4:00 PM

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