Drexel holds on to beat Towson

Drexel went into its game against Towson Wednesday night hoping to dispatch the struggling Tigers and look good doing it as the season nears the stretch run with postseason seedings still up for grabs.

Well, at least the Dragons accomplished their primary objective.

In a Colonial Athletic Association contest at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, a three-point play by freshman guard Frantz Massenat with 1 minute, 28 seconds remaining gave Drexel a little breathing room and the Dragons went on to win, 65-59.

It was 56-51 before Massenat added those three points to the Drexel score, and his two free throws shortly thereafter put the Dragons up by 61-51.

Drexel improved to 15-7 overall and 7-5 in the CAA. Towson is now 4-18 and 0-12.

Drexel has six CAA games remaining, plus a Feb. 19 date with Kent State in an ESPNU Bracket Buster contest. The Dragons' next outing is at Delaware on Saturday.

Guards Chris Fouch and Gerald Colds scored 15 points each to lead the Dragons. Guard Rashawn Polk (14) and forward Isaiah Philmore (11) topped the Tigers.

Towson entered the contest on a 10-game losing streak. The last time the Tigers tasted victory was on Dec. 29 in a nonleague game at La Salle that was decided in overtime.

After leading by eight points at halftime, Drexel had a 37-25 with 16 minutes, 30 seconds left.

Towson pulled to within 50-45 with less than eight minutes to go on a three-point jumper by guard Dre McCoy, which tested Drexel's mettle.

The Dragons managed to hold the Tigers at bay, although the teams combined for only three points over a four-minute period. Drexel was up 52-48 when Fouch went to the basket for a layup with just over four minutes showing on the clock.

At the outset, neither side played like a winner.

Dragons forward Daryl McCoy broke a three-game scoreless spell by making the first basket of the night on a jumper from the foul line. Those were the only points either team put on the board in four minutes, and with 10 minutes gone, the score was 8-8.

It wasn't until the last seven minutes of the half that Drexel put some consecutive baskets together after getting stops and holding Towson without a bucket for nearly four minutes.

The Dragons ran off 12 unanswered points to go up by 24-14, and they had a 30-22 advantage at intermission.

Although Towson had eight players make the scorebook., the Tigers were good on only 7 of their 26 shots in the first half.