Quick Report: Elon 81, Drexel 76

Tanner Samson (above) finished with a game-high 19 points as Elon beat Drexel 81-76 on Thursday night. (Photo: Abigail Hoffer/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Drexel’s agonizing 2016 continued with the Dragons’ 11th loss in a row, the latest by a score of 81-76 at the hands of the Elon Phoenix on Thursday night.

At First…
Drexel came out hot, matching a sharpshooting Elon squad in making its first three 3-pointers and 10 of its first 15 shots overall. That helped the Dragons open up a 31-21 lead on the Phoenix, who started off 6-of-9 from the floor but then only made three of its next 14 attempts. But that 10-point gap was narrowed to three at halftime as Elon closed out on an 11-4 run, capped off by a Steven Santa Ana triple just ahead of the buzzer.

Turning Point…
The momentum from Santa Ana’s shot carried right through the half for Elon, which made its first five shots of the second half to go up by four at the 16:51 mark. Drexel responded, going up 62-56 with 9:14 remaining on a Tavon Allen jumper, but the last stretch was all Elon. The Phoenix took advantage of two Drexel turnovers in the next five possessions, getting a 3-point play from Brian Dawkins and two 3-pointers from Tanner Samson as part of a 16-2 run that opened up an eight-point lead with under four minutes to play.

Standout Stars…
Drexel grad student forward Kazembe Abif tied his career mark with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting, picking up seven rebounds as well. He was one of four Dragons in double figures, along with Tavon Allen (15), Terrell Allen (14) and Rodney Williams (10). Terrell Allen, a freshman point guard, also had seven assists and three rebounds against just one turnover while shooting 6-of-9 from the floor.

Noteworthy Number(s)…
75.0: Elon seemingly couldn’t miss a shot over the closing 20 minutes, going 18-of-24 (75 percent) in the second half to finish at 58.2 percent (32-of-55) on the game. That includes a 6-of-8 mark from 3-point range in the second half, contrasting to Drexel's 1-of-7 from beyond the arc over the same period of time. The Dragons finished 31-of-60 (51.7 percent) from the floor, the team's second straight game making more than half its shots after failing to hit 40 percent in each of the four games prior.

23: The loss is Drexel’s 23rd of the year, continuing the worst season in the program’s 46-year Division I history. The Dragons’ previous mark for losses in a season was a 12-20 year during the 2007-08 season, while a 7-17 year in 1970-71--the program’s first in Division I--was the worst in terms of winning percentage (.292).

Up Next…
Drexel (3-23, 1-14 CAA) @ William & Mary (Feb. 20, 2 PM)
Elon (15-13, 6-9 CAA) @ Towson (Feb. 20, Noon)