Spring Break
Dragons slay city rival St. Joseph's
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 1/9/09 Section: Sports
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But after his team stepped it up late in the first half against his alma mater and carried that momentum into the second half, the DAC Pack's chant to Hawks' fans as they filed out of Philadelphia's most famous college sports venue said it all.
"The Hawk is dead! The Hawk is dead! The Hawk is dead!"
Jamie Harris scored a career-high 16 points, three coming on a 30-foot shot at the buzzer that capped a 14-2 first half run to give Drexel a two-point lead heading into the intermission and the Dragons jumped out to a 21-point second half cushion en route to a 64-52 victory over City Six rival St. Joseph's in front of 5,631 fans Dec. 31 at the Palestra.
"It was a good win," senior guard Scott Rodgers, who poured in a team-high 18 points, said. "Beating St. Joe's with the DAC Pack [in attendance] at the Palestra, it's just a good win for us. That's our second win in a row going into the New Year so hopefully it can just continue."
Drexel (4-6) trailed 26-16 with four minutes remaining in the first half, but Harris got his team going. The sophomore point guard knocked down a three from the left wing and a pull-up jumper to cut the deficit to five and Tramayne Hawthorne followed with a three-pointer of his own to make it a two-point game with 2:41 left.
The Hawks (5-7) were ahead by just one on Drexel's final possession. The Dragons could not get anything going in their last half-court set, but Harris' desperation prayer from the right wing swished through the net as the horn sounded. Drexel went into the lockerroom up 30-28.
The Dragons got even stronger in the second half going on a 28-9 run to take a 58-37 lead with 3:58 remaining.
Rodgers keyed the surge with his aggressive drives to the basket, which mostly ended in free throws. In all, he finished 12-of-20 from the line.
"We executed well," Flint, who improved to 10-8 versus St. Joseph's in his career, said. "We played smart basketball."
The Dragons dominated the boards, outrebounding the Hawks 40-27, while going 24-of-40 at the free throw line. St. Joseph's got to the stripe just 20 times.
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