Drexel downs James Madison on Senior Night
Elegar, Oveneke go out winners
Shawn Gauby
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Sports
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Drexel (12-18, 5-12 CAA) seemingly had the game out of reach after Tramayne Hawthorne connected from behind the arc as they took 61-50 lead with 4:20 to go. However, the Dukes (12-16, 4-13) were not finished.
"We're a pretty resilient team," James Madison coach Dean Keener said. "On senior night, you knew they were going to do everything they could to win, too."
Abdulai Jalloh led James Madison on a 17-7 run to claw within a point. He capped the run by banking in a 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds left. On the next inbounds play, Oveneke tried to launch a pass the length of the court to Rob Hampton, but Pierre Curtis hustled back to the ball and picked it off. Curtis tried to save it while falling out of bounds, but he threw it toward the waiting arms of Hampton, who subsequently had an uncontested layup.
"Rob Hampton actually was open, and [Oveneke] caught him too late," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "That's the reason why Curtis was coming so fast. He wasn't going to be able to get the ball, though. His momentum was taking him, and he was going to go out of bounds."
The lay-in gave the Dragons a three-point lead that they would not relinquish.
The Dukes clamped down defensively on Elegar the entire night, forcing the rest of the team to pick up the slack.
"You can't let a guy like Elegar get going, and certainly, we were able to do contain him," James Madison head coach Dean Keener said.
Usually when Elegar is ineffective, the team suffers; however, this time, the Dragons were able to score without the help from their leader. The team used a balanced scoring attack with five players scoring in double figures.
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