Spring Break
Men's basketball pushes road winning streak to three
Brett Fischer
Issue date: 1/9/09 Section: Sports
For a team that had found great difficulty winning road games in 2008, the men's basketball team is starting to find its niche away from home.
Scott Rodgers had a career-high 25 points and the Dragons never trailed as Drexel (5-6, 1-1 CAA) hung on for a 63-56 over Hofstra (9-4, 1-1) Jan. 3 in Hempstead, NY.
"We're not the most talented offense group, but our defense came up big today," Rodgers said.
The win gives the Dragons their third consecutive road victory and third consecutive win overall after starting the season 2-6.
"We got off to a tough start this year," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "We lost a lot of close games earlier. Just to be able to win late and hold on because we haven't been doing that."
Jamie Harris added 14 points, four rebounds and five steals for Drexel, while Evan Neisler also scored in double digits with 10 on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
Hofstra's leading scorer, Charles Jenkins, was held scoreless in the first half and had just 10 points while committing five turnovers.
Once again, Drexel's defense dominated. The Dragons forced 20 Hofstra turnovers and held the Pride to just 24.1 percent shooting in the first half and 37.7 percent overall.
"We never went on a run," Hofstra coach Tom Pecora said. "That's the first game of season where we never went on any type of run. We just struggled to score the basketball."
The Dragons didn't shoot any better, as they finished 37.0 percent from the field and just 20.0 percent from the 3-point line.
"We're not the most prolific offensive team so we'd better guard somebody," Flint said.
But the big difference came at the free throw line.
The Dragons were 19-of-26 and the Pride finished the game 7-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Drexel, one of the better rebounding teams in the conference, could not keep up with Hofstra's Dane Johnson and Greg Washington who pulled down 10 boards each.
The Pride outrebounded the Dragons 19-11 on the offensive end and 45-34 overall.
Scott Rodgers had a career-high 25 points and the Dragons never trailed as Drexel (5-6, 1-1 CAA) hung on for a 63-56 over Hofstra (9-4, 1-1) Jan. 3 in Hempstead, NY.
"We're not the most talented offense group, but our defense came up big today," Rodgers said.
The win gives the Dragons their third consecutive road victory and third consecutive win overall after starting the season 2-6.
"We got off to a tough start this year," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "We lost a lot of close games earlier. Just to be able to win late and hold on because we haven't been doing that."
Jamie Harris added 14 points, four rebounds and five steals for Drexel, while Evan Neisler also scored in double digits with 10 on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.
Hofstra's leading scorer, Charles Jenkins, was held scoreless in the first half and had just 10 points while committing five turnovers.
Once again, Drexel's defense dominated. The Dragons forced 20 Hofstra turnovers and held the Pride to just 24.1 percent shooting in the first half and 37.7 percent overall.
"We never went on a run," Hofstra coach Tom Pecora said. "That's the first game of season where we never went on any type of run. We just struggled to score the basketball."
The Dragons didn't shoot any better, as they finished 37.0 percent from the field and just 20.0 percent from the 3-point line.
"We're not the most prolific offensive team so we'd better guard somebody," Flint said.
But the big difference came at the free throw line.
The Dragons were 19-of-26 and the Pride finished the game 7-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Drexel, one of the better rebounding teams in the conference, could not keep up with Hofstra's Dane Johnson and Greg Washington who pulled down 10 boards each.
The Pride outrebounded the Dragons 19-11 on the offensive end and 45-34 overall.
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