Drexel storms back in the second half to beat James Madison, 72-66

Drexel just needed some time to wake up.

After scoring just 16 first-half points and facing a 12-point halftime deficit Monday night, the Dragons knocked down three-pointers and tightened their defense in the second half to defeat James Madison, 72-66, at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

Camren Wynter scored 22 of his team-high 27 points in the second half, when Drexel (11-10, 6-5 Colonial Athletic Association) outscored the Dukes (13-9, 4-7) by 56-38.

“Defense has to win games,” Drexel coach Zach Spiker said. " I thought we did a good job of that [throughout the game].”

After taking the lead with 9 minutes, 33 seconds left, the Dragons wouldn’t look back, as the offensive and defensive adjustments were enough to give them their first back-to-back conference wins of the season.

Amari Williams had 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for Drexel, which also got 14 points from Melik Martin.

Vado Morse led James Madison with 17 points.

Drexel had problems dealing with James Madison’s defense in the first half. The Dukes would frequently alternate between man-to-man and zone, as well as mixing in both half- and full-court traps.

The stingy defense forced Drexel turnovers and caused jumpers late in the shot clock. In the game’s first 15 minutes, the Dragons scored only 12 total points, a span that included a six-minute scoring drought with six turnovers and 10 consecutive missed shots. James Madison went on a 10-0 run during the stretch. Martin temporarily stopped the bleeding with a basket with four minutes left in the half.

The Dragons had as many turnovers –– even –– as field goals in the first half. But thankfully for the Dragons, the halftime deficit was only 12 points. The Dukes had problems of their own, scoring only six points over the final seven of the opening 20 minutes, allowing Drexel to stay in the game.

A large reason why the Dragons struggled to get on the scoreboard early was their inability to make three-pointers. Entering Monday night’s contest, Drexel was the No. 1 three-point shooting team (by percentage) in the conference. In the first half, the Dragons had only two treys.

In the second half, Drexel used long balls to claw its way back into the game. Wynter knocked down three three-pointers, with Martin, Mate Okros, and Lamar Oden Jr. each adding one in the final 20 minutes.

“We all felt the same way in the locker room [at halftime],” Spiker said. “We need to play better, harder, and with more energy.”

At the first media timeout in the second half, Drexel had cut its deficit to four. With 14 minutes to play, the game was tied. With an extra level of energy not seen in the first half, Drexel had come backwith strong defense and more structure on offense.

The Dragons went up by seven points after a 13-0 run late in the second half.

The Dragons shot 60% from the three-point line in the second half.

Every player for Drexel was available to play on Monday, the second straight game where its bench was full. With the Dragons now fully healthy, they will look to string together some wins before the conference tournament in March.

Drexel continues its homestand on Thursday night against Hofstra.