Spring Break
Men's basketball season comes to abrupt end
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: Sports
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Rodgers had every right to be emotional.
His career had come to an abrupt halt - if not an end - as did his team's once promising 2008-09 season.
The notoriously slow-starting Dragons gave up the game's first 15 points, trailed 39-14 at halftime and never recovered, falling 73-62 to the Tigers March 6 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va.
"What are you going to do?" Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint said. "We were awful."
Rodgers, a Second Team All-CAA selection, was held to just 11 points on 2-of-15 shooting and had five turnovers in his final game. The senior guard finished his storied career with 996 points.
"I'm disappointed," Rodgers said. "Individual accomplishments don't mean anything if you don't come in here and win."
Drexel (15-14) was picked last in the 12-team CAA's preseason poll, but surprised the conference - at one point winning seven consecutive games - on its way to finishing sixth with a record of 10-8. As a result, Flint garnered the CAA Coach of the Year award.
However, his team was on a downward trend. The Dragons had lost three consecutive one-point conference games heading into the postseason.
But not one of the players, coaches, media or 8,321 fans in attendance expected what was to come right from the opening tip.
Towson (11-21) started the game out on fire, connecting on six of its first seven shots and opened up a 15-0 lead as Drexel failed to connect on its first nine attempts from the field.
In fact, the Dragons did not make their first basket until the 13:01 mark, when Leon Spencer threw down an uncontested two-handed dunk off a broken play as all five Tigers were sprinting up the floor.
Towson led by as many as 26 in the first half and it looked as though Drexel wouldn't even get into double-digits by the break.
The Dragons did manage to end up with 14 points after the first 20 minutes, but shot a mere 17.4 percent from the field (4-of-23).
Rodgers and fellow senior Tramayne Hawthorne were a combined 0-for-11 in the first half and had two points between them.
"We didn't do anything to start the game," Flint said. "We didn't make layup. We didn't play defense. We didn't get any rebounds. That's why you get down by 20-something points."
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