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Drexel's season ends with loss in CAA quarterfinal

03/04/2018, 9:00pm EST
By Owen McCue

Drexel coach Zach Spiker (above) led his team to a slight improvement in his second season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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Holding on to a nine-point lead on the College of Charleston with 10 minutes, 50 seconds left  in Sunday’s Colonial Athletic Association quarterfinal, it looked like Drexel might have some magic left in its season.

The Dragons have had some incredible moments during the 2017-18 campaign. There was an early season win against Houston, now a Top 25 squad and NCAA Tournament-bound team. They also picked up an impressive non-conference win against Rider, the eventual Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champs.

There were wins against the College of Charleston, Northeastern and William & Mary—three of the top four teams in the CAA—during conference play, and don’t forget about a 34-point comeback against Delaware late in February, which set an NCAA record.

Alas, the Dragons could not repeat any of those triumphs, as the top seeded Cougars ended Drexel’s season with a 66-59 loss.

Drexel trailed by three at halftime but used a 21-9 start to the second half to built its nine-point advantage. After a free throw by redshirt-junior guard Tramaine Isabell put the Dragons up by 48-39 at the 10:50 mark in the second half, the College of Charleston reeled off a 13-0 run to go back on top with 52-48 with 5:24 left in the game.

A three by Isabell and a layup by sophomore guard Kurk Lee gave the Dragons the lead back with 4:22 to go. Then came another run by the Cougars, who scored seven straight to go up 59-53 with a Joe Chealey jumper at the 2:38 mark. College of Charleston never let Drexel get it back to a one-possession game for the rest of the contest as the Dragons ended their season with a CAA quarterfinal loss.

In Drexel head coach Zach Spiker’s first season last year, the Dragons went 9-23 overall and 3-15 in the CAA. They lost their last five regular season games before falling to James Madison in the first round of the CAA tournament.

Like last season, the Dragons did not close the 2017-18 campaign strong, losing five of their last six regular season games. It might have been six in a row if not for the record-setting comeback victory against Delaware.

Spiker’s squad did show signs of growth in year two. A year ago, the Drexel finished dead last in the CAA, two games behind ninth place Delaware and four games behind Hofstra and James Madison, who tied for seventh place.

Drexel finished its 2017-18 season at 13-20 overall and 6-12 in the CAA. The 13 wins for the Dragons were the most since the 2013-14 campaign.

Though the Dragons were once again at the bottom of the conference standings, they closed the gap between themselves and the rest of the league. Drexel tied with four other teams for seventh place in the CAA and finished a game behind sixth and two out of fifth. A win against James Madison on Saturday gave Spiker his first conference tournament win at Drexel.

Spiker found a gem in Isabell this season, who sat out a year ago after transferring from Missouri. Though he struggled a bit on Sunday, going 4-of-14 from the floor for 14 points, the 6-foot-1 guard finished second in the CAA in scoring this season at 21.2 points per game to eanr second team all-conference honors.

Redshirt-junior guard Troy Harper (Campbell) and sophomore forward Alihan Demir (Central Wyoming College) were two other nice additions for the Dragons. Harper averaged 10.3 ppg, turning into the one of the conference’s top bench players. Demir averaged 10.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg in 27 contests.

With the additions, Lee, who led the team with 15 points on Sunday, saw some of his numbers drop from his freshman year, but he still put together a solid season, averaging 12.3 ppg and 3.3 apg, which were both second to Isabell. Isabell, Lee, Demir and Harper were four of the Dragons top five scorers and should form a solid core back next season.

Out the door for Drexel are senior guard Sammy Mojica and senior forward Austin Williams. Mojica was the only Dragon to start every game this season. He finished third on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg. Williams averaged 9.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg and nearly three blocks per contest.

While the Dragons’ appear to have some nice pieces at the guard spot with Isabell, Lee and Harper, Williams’ interior defense and rebounding will be hard to replace.

Drexel should get a boost of toughness inside with the addition of James Butler, a 6-foot-8 forward from Navy who is sitting out this season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Though the Dragons improve was slight in year two of the Spiker era, in part due to some injury woes and not having its complete lineup for a good portion of the season--Mojica and Lee were the only two players to see action in every game--the pieces are in place for a potential leap forward next season in year three.


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