Drexel falls to Hofstra in CAA quarterfinals
Archbishop Carroll product Juan’ya Green had 13 of his 22 points in the first half as No. 1 seed Hofstra led by 16 points in the first half and defeated No. 9 seed Drexel 80-67 Saturday afternoon in the Colonial Athletic Association quarterfinals at Royal Farms Arena.
BALTIMORE - Baltimore has not been kind to the Drexel men's basketball team the last year, both on and off the court.
It was nearly a year ago when Damion Lee, a native of Charm City, informed Dragons coach Bruiser Flint that he would not return for his final season. One of the top scorers in the nation last year, Lee is now averaging about 16 points per game for Louisville and is projected as a second-round NBA draft pick by DraftExpress.com.
Baltimore was also the scene Saturday afternoon of Drexel's season finale, an 80-67 loss to No. 1 seed Hofstra in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament at the Royal Farms Arena. The Dragons trailed by 15 points in the first half and by as many as 20 in the second as Hofstra guard and CAA player of the year Juan'ya Green (Archbishop Carroll) had 22 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Drexel, which also lost at Towson in suburban Baltimore on Jan. 16, early in an 11-game losing streak, ended 6-25 overall and has a losing record for the third time in the last four years.
This was the worst season for the Dragons in 15 years under Flint and was the first time in eight seasons that Drexel did not have a winning record in CAA play.
"We just have to hope the players in the program get healthy," Flint said. "We return a lot of guys; we have some guys sitting on the sidelines. I think we have good enough talent. We have to be able to put them on the floor. It has been about our health for the last two years."
After such a frustrating season, would Flint like to get right back to work or take some time away?
"That is a good question," he said. "The frustrating thing is I have never had two losing seasons in a row as a head coach. I have never been through this in my career. It is hard. We have to learn from it."
The Dragons were paced by junior Rodney Williams with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Graduate senior Kazembe Abif had a season-high 18 points, and sophomore Sammy Mojica had 10. Freshman point guard Terrell Allen had eight assists, and sophomore Rashann London added seven.
"I missed a lot of shots that should have went in for me," said Williams, who was 8 of 21 from the field. "We just have to finish more plays."
Hofstra did a good job against Tavon Allen, the Dragons' top scorer this season, who was held scoreless in the first half and finished with five points.
"We had to keep fighting. When we cut it to nine [in the second half] they made some nice plays," Abif said. "I tried to do my best. I tried to keep us in the game. Things didn't go our way."
Green made a three-pointer from near the top of the key to give Hofstra a 34-19 lead with 4 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first half. The Pride led, 42-29, at halftime and scored the first seven points of the second half to make it 49-29.
Drexel trimmed the deficit to 59-50 with 9:35 left on a three-pointer by Tavon Allen. But Green took over and hit a three-pointer with 5:09 left to push the score to 73-54 as the Pride beat Drexel for the third time since Jan. 14.
The Pride got 16 points and 11 rebounds from center Rokas Gustys. Brian Bernardi had 14 points, Ameen Tanksley (Imhotep Charter) had 13 points, and Denton Koon had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Green was the only player on the court for all 40 minutes.
"He makes the other guys better. I voted for him as the player of the year," Flint said.
Hofstra did not allow any fastbreak points.
"That was one our keys, getting back in transition, stopping the ball and not letting them take easy shots," Green said.
So it was fitting that the Dragons' season ended in Baltimore. Perhaps the only solace for Drexel is that the CAA tournament will move to South Carolina next year after a three-year run here.