City Six basketball: Drexel men fall to 0-2 in CAA play

One adjustment is all it takes to switch the momentum of a game. Drexel found itself on the wrong side of that change when it led by 10 against the College of Charleston at halftime on Sunday.

In the second half, Charleston switched to a zone defense and zapped Drexel’s first-half momentum. After shooting 56.5% in the first half, the visiting Dragons shot 35.7%. Charleston also enjoyed a 16-0 run to top Drexel, 73-68, in a Colonial Athletic Association game at TD Arena.

“I really thought we had some clean looks from guys who have hit shots in our program,” head coach Zach Spiker said. “We were not as efficient against their zone.”

Charleston (5-6, 3-1 CAA) shot 61.5% in the second half.

Charleston sophomore Brenden Tucker, who entered Sunday’s game averaging 5.8 points with a career-high of 16, led all scorers with 35 points and made 5 of 7 three-pointers. No other Cougar scored in double figures.

“I think anyone in college basketball can have days like that,” Spiker said. “I don’t take anyone for granted.”

Everything was falling for Drexel (5-4, 0-2 CAA) in the first half. Zach Walton (17 points) and James Butler (16 points, 10 rebounds) started strong, but their shots didn’t fall in the second half. Camren Wynter led the Dragons with 19 points and five assists.

Spiker described the mood in the locker room as “disappointed.” It’s another slow start for Drexel, who was picked to finish third in the CAA preseason poll. The Dragons have now started 0-2 in conference play in six of the last seven seasons.

“We got competitors in that locker room,” Spiker said.

Two days ago, the La Salle women’s basketball team was down mentally after losing by 29 points to rival St. Joseph’s. Head coach Mountain MacGillivray said the team didn’t have a good practice Saturday.

But there was no carryover effect.

On Sunday, it was La Salle winning in convincing fashion over the Hawks, 81-66, in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Tom Gola Arena. The 81 points is the most La Salle has scored under MacGillivray, who is in this third year.

“They really want to be good, and they really want to get better,” MacGillivray said of his players. “I’m just so happy for them that they were able to bounce back.”

Reigning Big Five player of the week Claire Jacobs led the Explorers (4-6, 1-3 A-10) with 21 points and nine rebounds. Kate Hill added 15 points and seven assists.

Neither Jacobs nor Hill played in the the local prep leagues, but they still understand the importance of beating the Hawks (3-1, 1-1 A-10). The Explorers swept both games last season.

“Today, we kind of had a chip on our shoulder,” Hill said. “We came in with the mindset that this is kind of a revenge game, and we’re not going 0-2 against them. To get a win and not go 0-2, that means a lot for us and our program.”