Spring Break
Dragons upset Northeastern
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 2/13/09 Section: Sports
Do you believe in miracles?
The Drexel men's basketball team certainly does - especially after it faced seemingly insurmountable odds against Northeastern.
Despite a lackluster performance in the first half and trailing by as many as 13 in the second half, the Dragons staged an improbable comeback, at one point taking an 11-point lead, before hanging on and upsetting the first-place Huskies 62-58 Feb. 11 at Matthews Arena in Boston, Mass.
"[Northeastern] is the best team in the league and they've been killing people [at home]," Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint said. "We didn't come in with our best shot. Last year we lost by [34] in here. This year we could've lost by [34] again. I was disappointed in the first half. We scored 15 points and left a lot of points on the table. We fumbled a lot of balls and missed a lot of easy layups so at halftime we just asked our players, 'Are we gonna battle or what?' And I think my guys did a pretty decent job in the second half."
Scott Rodgers scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half for Drexel (13-10, 9-5 CAA), which snapped its two-game losing streak in dramatic fashion and moved back into fourth place in the conference.
"It's a big win," Rodgers said. "Our coaches told us that a lot of teams come in here and get crushed by this type of atmosphere.
"At halftime we just had to come out and make a few adjustments and in the second half we came out in attack mode. Once we did that and settled down and locked down [defensively] it was good."
Jamie Harris added 12 points, while Samme Givens added 10 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for the Dragons, who shot a blistering 59.1 percent were 20-of-29 at the free throw line in the second half.
It was the type of win that can turn a team's season around. However, it would not have come without some major changes.
In the first half the Dragons were marred by inconsistency. The team made only six field goals and turned the ball over 10 times. But despite its offensive woes Drexel trailed by only eight going into the lockerroom thanks in-large part to its play on the defensive end, which kept it in the game.
The Drexel men's basketball team certainly does - especially after it faced seemingly insurmountable odds against Northeastern.
Despite a lackluster performance in the first half and trailing by as many as 13 in the second half, the Dragons staged an improbable comeback, at one point taking an 11-point lead, before hanging on and upsetting the first-place Huskies 62-58 Feb. 11 at Matthews Arena in Boston, Mass.
"[Northeastern] is the best team in the league and they've been killing people [at home]," Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint said. "We didn't come in with our best shot. Last year we lost by [34] in here. This year we could've lost by [34] again. I was disappointed in the first half. We scored 15 points and left a lot of points on the table. We fumbled a lot of balls and missed a lot of easy layups so at halftime we just asked our players, 'Are we gonna battle or what?' And I think my guys did a pretty decent job in the second half."
Scott Rodgers scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half for Drexel (13-10, 9-5 CAA), which snapped its two-game losing streak in dramatic fashion and moved back into fourth place in the conference.
"It's a big win," Rodgers said. "Our coaches told us that a lot of teams come in here and get crushed by this type of atmosphere.
"At halftime we just had to come out and make a few adjustments and in the second half we came out in attack mode. Once we did that and settled down and locked down [defensively] it was good."
Jamie Harris added 12 points, while Samme Givens added 10 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for the Dragons, who shot a blistering 59.1 percent were 20-of-29 at the free throw line in the second half.
It was the type of win that can turn a team's season around. However, it would not have come without some major changes.
In the first half the Dragons were marred by inconsistency. The team made only six field goals and turned the ball over 10 times. But despite its offensive woes Drexel trailed by only eight going into the lockerroom thanks in-large part to its play on the defensive end, which kept it in the game.
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Bob
posted 2/15/09 @ 3:00 PM EST
do you believe in good writing? apparently Mike Mazzeo doesn't.
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