Drexel falls out of the CAA Tournament with a double-overtime loss to Stony Brook

WASHINGTON — Drexel led Stony Brook by as many as 13 points Sunday night, but the Dragons fell, 91-88, in double overtime in the quarterfinals of the Coastal Athletic Association Championship at Entertainment and Sports Arena.

Luke House scored a career-high 28 points, but the second-seeded Dragons (20-12) missed several opportunities to close out the game. Lucas Monroe added 13 points for Drexel.

“I couldn’t be more proud of that locker room, and there’s a lot, a lot of pain in that locker room right there for how well we played,” Drexel coach Zach Spiker said postgame. “... It just breaks my heart, for all of our guys.”

Seventh-seeded Stony Brook (19-14) advanced to the conference’s semifinal. Aaron Clarke paced the Seawolves with 27 points.

Drexel, which led by eight at halftime, took a 12-point lead on a Justin Moore dunk with 7 minutes, 32 seconds to go, but Stony Brook responded with a 15-4 run, cutting Drexel’s lead to one with under three minutes remaining.

Moore later scored a layup to give the Dragons a three-point lead with 2:33 to play. But Stony Brook got two massive dunks from Chris Maidoh to send the game to overtime.

Drexel made three of its final nine shots in regulation.

In the first overtime, Drexel took a two-point lead on a Garfield Turner free throw with 18 seconds remaining, but Stony Brook’s Aaron Clarke hit a midrange jumper with nine seconds left to send the game to double overtime.

Maidoh delivered again in the second overtime. With a minute remaining and the game tied, he made a push shot from the paint after a Stony Brook offensive rebound to give the Seawolves the lead. Monroe responded with a layup in traffic to knot the score at 88.

Clarke then hit a jump shot off the backboard and was fouled, the three-point play giving Stony Brook a three-point lead. House’s three-point attempt missed long to end it.

“It stinks because we really thought we had a chance to make it to Tuesday and win it all, so, obviously, a disappointing feeling,” House said. “Everybody’s upset. But, we love each other. We’re always there for each other as teammates, as coaches. I wouldn’t want to go to war with anybody else.”

All night, House was the motor for Drexel. The Archbishop Carroll product shot 10-for-18 from the field and 7-for-11 from three in the best scoring game of his career.

The former Division II player scored 16 of his points in the second half, stopping multiple runs from Stony Brook. He was on fire from three but also scored inside, converting a three-point play and making a clutch fadeaway in regulation.

But, it all came in a heartbreaker for Drexel. And, unless Drexel gets a bid to one of the postseason tournaments, it was House’s last game of his college career.

“If I had a hall of fame of guys that I’ve had the honor to coach ... he’s one of the hardest workers,” Spiker said. “He’s deserving of all the success he had.”

“It’s meant everything, honestly,” House said of playing at Drexel. “I can’t even imagine a better team to be around. Can’t imagine a better coaching staff. Can’t imagine a better head coach.”

Drexel star big man Amari Williams, who won the conference’s defensive player of the year award for the third consecutive season, went to the locker room with a lower-body injury three minutes into the second half. He returned to the sideline a little later, spending a lot of time on the stationary bike, before coming back in with 6:17 remaining.

Williams didn’t play in the first overtime and returned with less than three minutes to play in the second overtime.

“Certainly, he’s a unique talent, so we missed him,” Spiker said. “But we still had a 51-38 lead at one point. We still built a lead and did some good things. So, yeah, we missed him.”

Drexel will await an invitation on a potential postseason opportunity.