Drexel falls to William and Mary after giving up early lead
A 10-point lead midway through the first half turned into a 45-34 halftime deficit for Drexel and the Dragons never seriously threatened in the second half.
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Drexel got off to a strong start, but William and Mary held its composure and then began shooting to form. After trailing by 10 midway through the first half, William and Mary assumed control, leading, 45-34, at halftime and never letting up during an 85-63 win Sunday at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
On Friday, Drexel beat Colonial Athletic Conference preseason favorite the College of Charleston, 87-82, in overtime. But the Dragons (7-10, 1-3 CAA) couldn't make it a weekend double against conference contenders. William and Mary (11-4, 4-0) has tied the best CAA start in school history, equaling the 1997-98 team that began 4-0.
"Their version of a layup is a wide-open three," Drexel coach Zach Spiker said of the Tribe.
That wasn't hyperbole. William and Mary entered the game leading the nation in three-point field goal percentage (46.2) and hit 10 of 22 (45.5 percent) against the Dragons.
Drexel shot just 4 of 17 from three-point range.
Redshirt senior point guard David Cohn, who began his career at Colorado State, scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the first half to lead William and Mary. Cohn shot 10 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. He entered the game 13th nationally in assists (6.9 per game) and had six assists and just one turnover.
One reason for the Tribe's success this season has been their balance. William and Mary can torch teams from the perimeter and has 6-foot-10 sophomore Nathan Knight to clean up inside. Knight, who is averaging 19.8 points and 8.4 rebounds, finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
"You've got four drillers on the floor and another guy who can really score down low and pass it," Spiker said, referring to Knight. "He was a handful early on and you worry about him, and guys get stuff in rhythm."
With three sophomores and two seniors in the starting lineup, the Tribe stayed on an even keel, even when Drexel took a 28-18 lead on Tramaine Isabell's three-pointer with 9 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first half.
"Drexel is a great basketball team, very offensive minded," Knight said. "It was tough for us to start the game, but we didn't panic and we came back."
Isabell and 6-9 sophomore Alihan Demir led the Dragons with 14 points. The two combined to shoot 11 for 19 from the floor, while the rest of the team was just 14 for 41.
The Dragons will now prepare for their chief CAA rival, Delaware. They will visit the Blue Hens on Thursday.