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Drexel outlasts College of Charleston, 53-51

01/24/2015, 4:00pm EST

By Tom Reifsnyder

Damion Lee (above, in December) finished with 21 for Drexel, who knocked off visiting College of Charleston on Saturday. (Photo: Josh Verlin)

Tom Reifsnyder (@tom_reifsnyder)
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Both losers of three of their last four games, Drexel and College of Charleston came into Saturday’s game with something to prove.

The Cougars entered the game in dead last of the Colonial Athletic Association standings, right behind the Dragons who came in tied for second-to-last with Towson and Elon.

Drexel’s Damion Lee was the man of the hour, delivering on a late 3-pointer to give the Dragons a 53-51 win.

Over a seven-minute span, freshmen Cameron Johnson and Evan Bailey would both knock down a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Cougars up two points with two minutes to play.

Bailey would miss a three-point attempt with 40 seconds to play, but the Cougars would retain possession on an Adjehi Baru rebound.

But Baru, a senior, would miss the front end of the one-and-one opportunity, giving the ball back to the Dragons, who would call for a timeout.

Whatever Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint said in the huddle, it worked, as Lee knocked down a corner three to give Drexel a one-point lead with 12 seconds to play; Lee, a junior, would finish with a game-high 21 points.

“We just ran a fade; we don’t usually run our play like that but I saw how they were lining up a little bit so I thought even if he [Lee] got it and they switched, it would be big man on him,” Flint said. “The last three possessions we had we sort of ran it for him and he made one, so he was one-for-three.”

The Dragons would take that lead to the buzzer as Charleston turned the ball over on its final possession.

The first half belonged to 6-foot-6 sophomore guard Canyon Barry, who scored 13 of his team’s 28 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field (3-of-4 from three) as Charleston outpaced Drexel early on.

The Cougars finished the half with four players grabbing two or more rebounds, led by Baru who had four to go along with his four points as Charleston out-rebounded guard-oriented Drexel, 17-11.

Drexel sophomore forward Mohamed Bah was a complete non-factor, picking up three fouls in just two minutes of first half action. Bah would finish with one point and four rebounds on the day.

Despite shooting just 23.8 percent through 20 minutes, Drexel’s Lee managed to keep the Dragons afloat, dropping in 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep by the halftime buzzer as his team trailed 28-22.

“I always tell the team this is not hockey, baseball or football; one field goal, one possession in the game doesn’t win it,” Flint said. “In basketball, you gotta score some points.”

Lee, who shot 3-of-5 from the charity stripe in the first half, ended his streak of 26 consecutive free throws made on his second attempt following a shooting foul 15 minutes into the contest.

Still trailing by six with 14 minutes to go, Sammy Mojica would knock down a three-pointer from the wing to bring Drexel within just three points of Charleston’s lead, 33-30; the freshman guard would finish with 10 points (4-of-6 FG).

“I try to be that guy to bring energy in the game a lot, and that’s what I do; I get steals, I’ll go and grab rebounds and I think I’m just that energizer for the team, and I’ll find my shots some way,” Mojica said.

Mojica (4.3 ppg), a 6-foot-3 Massachusetts native, is averaging just under 10 points per game over his last three including today. However, Flint is still preaching patience for the young guard.

“He’s been alright, don’t be gassing him up,” Flint said jokingly. “He’s absolutely right that he brings energy, I just want him to be a little smarter.

“At times, he gets a little crazy but in terms of his effort, I think it’s always been there since he started to play.”

The Cougars second leading scorer, Joe Chealey (11.9 ppg), would respond to Mojica’s deep ball with a three of his own from the corner to bump his team’s lead back up to the halftime mark of six.

But Drexel wouldn’t relent so easily, summoning a 7-0 run capped by a Tavon Allen three-pointer that gave Drexel just its second lead of the game, 37-36; Allen, a junior, finished with 14 points (6-of-6 FT).

With just under 10 minutes to play, Barry would show off his underhanded free throw stroke, which he likely learned from his father, NBA legend Rick Barry, after laying in a running floater and drawing a foul to put the Cougars back up 39-37.

However, Barry’s exploits wouldn’t be enough for the Cougars to emerge with a victory as he scored just three points in the second half, finishing with 16.

Next up on the schedule for Charleston (6-15, 1-7) is a road matchup with Towson on Thursday, Jan. 29.

The Dragons (5-14, 3-5) will look to carry their momentum from today’s nail-biting win into a matchup with Northeastern on Wednesday, Jan. 28.