Drexel's offense shut down in loss to Monarchs
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 2/13/09 Section: Sports
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And without its best dribble-drive threat and high-post pick-and-roll forward Drexel was stymied by the Monarchs' active zone defense.
The Dragons were held to just 14 points and shot only 20 percent in the first half as they suffered their second straight loss, 63-53, at the hands of ODU Feb. 7 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
"We just didn't aggressively attack to be honest with you," Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint said. "We talked about what was gonna happen in the game. They play a lot of zone. We gotta finish plays with guys taking the body [on the inside] and we were just absolutely awful in the game at that."
"I'm just so disappointed. I actually told my team that we were lucky to lose by 10 tonight. We were so bad tonight we should've got crushed."
Gerald Lee dominated on the inside for the Monarchs, finishing with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting.
"I just worked hard and they have some great players but I think my teammates passed me the ball great tonight and I was just working harder for it than I usually do," Lee said.
Jamie Harris hit six three-pointers and finished with 20 points to lead Drexel (12-10, 8-5), while Gerald Colds added 14.
But the story was Drexel's inability to score against ODU's constantly adapting defense - especially in the first half.
Rodgers (16:31) and Givens (13:25) each picked up their second foul and the Dragons' offense went into the tank.
The team managed just one field goal - an unreal spinning hook by Leon Spencer - over the final 13:48 of the first half. They were outscored 19-3 over that stretch and trailed by 12 at the break.
"We had a few open looks we just missed shots," Harris said.
Harris knocked down four threes in the final 2:41 as the Dragons attempted to get back in the game, but they only got as close as nine.
Overall, the Dragons shot 32.1 percent from the field and were 8-of-23 from beyond the arc.
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