Spring Break
Men's bball loses in final seconds on Senior Night
Brett Fischer
Issue date: 2/27/09 Section: Sports
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The men's basketball team gave up a basket with 1.3 seconds left in the game and lost 47-46 to the Northeastern Huskies Feb. 25 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Senior Night.
Coming out of a timeout, Drexel guard Tramayne Hawthorne missed a running jumper with 12 seconds left in the game. After getting the defensive rebound, Northeastern's Matt Janning was blocked by Drexel forward Leon Spencer with four seconds remaining.
But Baptiste Bataille picked up the loose ball and hit an open jumper to give the Huskies (18-10, 12-5 Colonial Athletic Association) a one-point lead with under two seconds to play.
Drexel forward Samme Givens' desperation pass was picked off by Northeastern's Nkem Ojougboh, which sent the Huskies into a frenzy and left the Dragons (15-12, 10-7) wondering if they lost the chance to earn a bye in the CAA Tournament.
Scott Rodgers led the Dragons with 13 points, eight rebounds and his most impressive block of his career. Hawthorne had 12 points and four rebounds but missed the crucial shot in the waning moments of the game.
"We drew up a play and wanted to get a good shot and fell short," Hawthorne said. "They ran a break and it went their way."
The Huskies were led by Manny Adako, who had 17 points and three points, but fouled out with 3:43 left in the second half. Bataille struggled the entire evening, but his only points of the night were on the game-winning shot.
"I think if it went on for two overtimes, there still would have been only a single point separation," Northeastern coach Bill Coen said.
Despite the difficult loss, the Dragons are still confident heading into their regular-season finale against William & Mary and the CAA Tournament.
"We can't let this game get us down," Rodgers said. "We still have another game coming up and the conference tournament. Hopefully, we'll get some wins down there."
Drexel's offense was stagnant down the stretch, and it didn't score a field goal in the last 5:50 of the game.
"The guys fought back, but you [have to] finish plays at the end of the game," Flint said. "We didn't do it. Even in the last couple plays, we got it to the rim but missed."
The men's basketball team had a stellar defensive effort in the second half for virtually all but the last two seconds of the game.
The Huskies were only able to manage three field goals in the previous 13 minutes.
Additionally, Drexel held Matt Janning to only two points on 1-of-8 shooting. The Dragons' incredible defense on Northeastern's leading scorer made the loss only more difficult to swallow.
"To hold Matt Janning and come up with the loss is tough," Rodgers said. "We were getting the shots we wanted and the rebounds we needed; we just couldn't put [the shots] in."
After an offensive foul by the Huskies' Eugene Spates with 43.9 seconds left, Drexel - with its home crowd at its feet - seemed to be in control of the game up 46-45. But it still wasn't enough.
"When you hold a team to 47 points on your home court, you're supposed to win that one," Flint said. "[But] we're bad at home anyway. Our guys know what's at stake. This isn't about coaching. This is about who's ready to play. I don't have any more speeches. If you're making speeches at the end of the year, you're in trouble. You can ask any coach that."
Drexel only managed to shoot 29.8 percent from the field for the game and 40 percent from the free throw line.
"I told them they're going to have games like this in the tournament," Flint said. "The only difference is that you have to make the plays to win the games. You can't shoot [30] percent and 40 percent. It's too hard. And that's what they did tonight."
Northeastern shot a dreadful 14.3 percent from the 3-point line but hit 80 percent of its free throws, including eight more than Drexel.
Drexel is now in a tie for fifth place in the CAA. The only way it can earn a bye in the CAA Tournament is if Northeastern, Drexel and Hofstra win their respective season finales (Northeastern hosts Old Dominion Feb. 28). The Dragons would earn the No. 4 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker.
Seniors Hawthorne, Rodgers, Bobby Jordan and Chris Mohl were honored before the game due to Senior Night.
Jordan and Mohl started the game and played until Mohl committed a foul seven seconds into the first half. They did not play the rest of the game.
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