City of Basketball Love

Jerome Taylor (@ThatGuy_Rome)
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Finding new contributors will be crucial to Drexel's success this year, considering the Dragon men are replacing over 60% of their scoring production. 

And in their season-opener against Old Dominion, the Dragons found them in their new and returning pieces. 

And it couldn’t have been more evident than this second-half sequence: 

Amari Williams blocked a shot at the rim, Mate Okros secured the floor-board and passed to Justin Moore, who glided in for a smooth fastbreak finger roll. The following offensive possession Moore knifed through the defense and kicked it out to Coltrane Washington, who drilled his third 3-pointer of the evening.  

Sequences like this exemplified the advanced chemistry that this lineup had in their first college game. But it wasn’t their first game together, thanks to the new NCAA rule that allows teams to take overseas trips every four years. 

Amari Williams (above) opened his season with a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double. (Photo: Dan Hilferty/CoBL)

“I think you saw some plays that are probably unique for new guys to make in the first game of the season,” Drexel head coach Zach Spiker said. “This is the Drexel difference. The fact that we got to take our guys and our administration supports a foreign trip every four years, this ain’t our first rodeo this group.”

“We got four games in Italy, we had two exhibitions, so this is their seventh time playing that ball screen action and finding a guy…  We went to Italy, Justin wasn't very good against the Bakkan Bears, but no one saw it. Maybe we don't win this game today if we don't have that experience.”

The four players involved in that sequence are two-thirds of Drexel’s captainship (Okros and Washington), the reigning CAA defensive player of the year (Williams), and a freshman starter (Moore). 

Williams and Washington’s inside-out scoring punch pushed the Dragons to a 71-59 victory over Old Dominion at the DAC on Friday. 

Williams kept the ship steady in an ugly first half that saw 30 free-throw attempts. The 6-10 Englishman controlled the paint on both ends of the court in the first half, punctuated by two emphatic plays at the rim.

First, after a strong post-spin move got him right under the rim, he rose for a two-handed slam over an Old Dominion defender. 

Later in the half, Williams reminded the gym that he led the CAA in blocks last year when he met Faizon Fields at the rim as Fields went up for a dunk of his own. 

The junior scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half, helping the Dragons take a 30-28 lead going into the half. He finished the game with 16 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and a steal, evidence of his continued progression as an overall basketball player. 

Williams took a significant step in his sophomore season, and now he’s carrying more of the offensive load, which may set him up for another leap, but Spiker isn’t putting that pressure on his big man.

 “I think when you project, ‘Hey, you were here, you gotta be there.’ I think that's unfair to a young man and all the different things that are going on in a college student's life,” Spiker said. “Let's just get better… Then later on you can sit back and look, Wow, you went from freshman to sophomore… We're working on year three with him. He made jumps last year, and just watch for him to make jumps this year. But we’re not going to put that pressure on any one player that he's gotta be a certain thing.”

The slim scoring difference in the first half reflected a tightly contested first frame. And in the second half, Williams dealt with cramps and fatigue, but strong backcourt play created separation for the Dragons.

Washington led the charge, knocking down three of his four second-half triples before the first media timeout of the half en route to 15 points. It was only a matter of time before the graduate senior made his mark on the game. Washington shot 36% from deep last year, and on Monday night, his shooting broke the game open as the Dragons jumped out to a 45-37 lead, and the Monarchs never recovered. 

Moore was the second backcourt member to get into a rhythm in the second half.

The freshman spent most of the first half on the training bike, keeping his legs warm after picking up two fouls, both on 3-point shooters.

But in the second half, the Archbishop Wood product proved why he was in the starting lineup in his collegiate debut. He finished with nine points and five assists, showing his pick-and-roll proficiency. The 6-3 guard made the right decision most of the time and confidently rose and knocked down mid-range jumpers when there weren’t other options.

“I thought his command of the ball screen was good. I thought his reads were good… that middle third is a sweet spot for him.” Spiker said.  “He's got that ability to keep a guy on his heel… a couple of broken plays, and he just hit the 17-foot jump shot that makes us look like really good coaches.”

After leading by double-digits for most of the second half, The monarchs were able to cut the lead to 10 points with four minutes remaining and with a minute remaining, the score was down to four points.

But some clutch play from veterans — Luke House’s ability as an inbounder and Jamie Bergens' coolness at the line — helped seal the game.

Bergens finished the game with eighth points, four coming at the line in the final minute to keep the game out of reach.

“Credit to our guys for how tough we responded… in other games and other situations in our seven years here, we didn't respond appropriately,” Spiker said. “I really loved the strong disposition and toughness that Jamie Bergens showed… Luke House, they pressed, and [he] just threw it over the top… I really thought Luke House bailed us out as a key inbounder in this game.”

Next on the Dragons' docket is a City 6 contest – The Battle of 33rd street – as Penn comes into the DAC on Tuesday.