The Triangle

Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Evan Rosen Drexel lost 60-51 to Fairfield in its BracketBuster matchup.

Drexel's performance against Fairfield certainly didn't mirror that of a team that had won two of its last three games.

The Dragons seemed to lack passion and a sense of urgency in their 60-51 BracketBusters game loss to the Stags Feb. 23.

"You got to come ready to play," head coach Bruiser Flint said. "What, are you going to take a day off? [If] guys don't come ready to play you lose the game. It's embarrassing."

As embarrassing an effort as it was, Drexel (11-18) did have plenty of opportunities to seize the lead.

The Dragons had cut a seven-point second-half deficit to just one with 3:47 remaining after a layup by Randy Oveneke, but could not get a stop on the defensive end.

Jonathan Han found Anthony Johnson for his only basket, a one-handed slam that put Fairfield (13-14) up 49-46.

Drexel countered with an Oveneke layup to cut the margin to 49-48 at the 2:59 mark, but once again the Stags had an answer.

Herbie Allen hit a jumper to put Fairfield up three and Han followed with a steal and ensuing layup, sparking an 8-1 run that took the game out of reach.

"I thought we were able to control the tempo of the game," Fairfield head coach, Ed Cooley, said. "We made some shots late in the shot clock [and] that was big in the game."

Han led the Stags with 14 points, all coming in the second half. He also distributed a game-high eight assists. Greg Nero (12 points) and Allen (10 points) were the other Fairfield players in double figures.

Oveneke's 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting paced Drexel, who did not have another scorer in double digits.

The Dragons managed to trail by just four, 27-23 at the half, despite not having leading Frank Elegar for the final 13:31 after he picked up his second foul.

Elegar finished with just nine points in 22 minutes. He was only 3-of-11 from the field.

The first half featured plenty of runs.

Fairfield used a 9-0 run to take a 14-7 lead, but Drexel countered with a 7-0 spurt of its own to tie the game.

Consecutive threes, one by Nero, put the Stags back up 20-14.

The Dragons shot 35.6 percent for the game compared to 42.3 percent for Fairfield.

Drexel was outrebounded 35-34 despite grabbing 14 on the offensive glass.

Oveneke and Elegar shared the rebounding lead with six apiece while Tramayne Hawthorne had a team-leading four assists to go along with five points.

Elegar also had two blocks in the losing effort. Four different players were tied for the lead in steals with just one apiece.

"We played awful," Flint said. "The guys didn't come ready to play. You can pick any number of guys out there. [Frank Elegar] was awful. So was everyone else on the team. The coaches were awful; we [the coaches] didn't get them ready. We were all awful and that's why we lost."



Game Notes: Fairfield now leads the all-time series 4-1. …The last time the teams met was during the 1993-1994 season when Malik Rose scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in a 73-60 Drexel win. … The Stags extended their winning streak to six. ... Former guard Bashir Mason was one of the 1,032 in attendance.

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