PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel Dragons (5-4) defeated the La Salle Explorers (5-5) at the Tom Gola Arena on Thursday night, 72-70. Kurk Lee and Sammy Mojica of Drexel combined for 42 points to give Drexel their third straight win.
Depleted by injuries, the Dragons utilized the seven healthy players they had in the battle against their City Six rival.
The visiting team had taken advantage of a slow Explorer start as Drexel led 24-10 at the midway point of the first half with a three by Alihan Demir and Tyshawn Myles lay-up.
Drexel defeated La Salle 72-70 on Thursday in a action packed City 6 contest - PSD photo by Emilee Desmond
Over the course of the next couple of minutes, La Salle went on a 10-2 run with three pointers by Pookie Powell and Saul Phiri to cut the deficit to five with just over six minutes to play in the half.
But an Explorer hot streak could not extinguish Drexel entirely. The Dragons went on an 8-0 run in the final minutes of the half to give themselves a 43-30 intermission lead.
“I was surprised at how little energy we had tonight and how quickly we fatigued,” said La Salle head coach John Giannini.
Drexel sat comfortably when the teams took to the court for the second half until La Salle started to pick up the pace with just under seven minutes to go.
With just minutes left in the game, Amar Stukes sunk two free throws and sophomore Isiah Deas had eight straight points of his own to pull the team within two points.
Lee had three straight points to extend the Dragon’s lead to five before B.J. Johnson hit a three pointer to bring the lead back down to two. Austin Williams of Drexel extended the lead by two to give the Dragons a four-point cushion with 1:40 left to play.
La Salle could not take advantage of their late game opportunities to pull through with a win. The Blue and Gold missed two of four free throws and two field goal attempts in the final minute and a half of play. A final three-pointer attempt was made by Deas as the buzzer sounded but it did not find it’s way in the net, giving Drexel the 72-70 win.
For the Explorers, senior B.J. Johnson recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds, marking his fifth double-double of the season. Powell also added 16 points for the Explorers.
PSD photo - Emilee Desmond
PSD photo - Emilee Desmond
Lee recorded 23 points on the night, with teammate Mojica shortly trailing behind him with 19 points of his own. Williams had 16 points and seven rebounds for Drexel.
Drexel out rebounded La Salle 42-26, but the Explorers had 17 forced turnovers. Deas led the bench scoring with 14 points on the night.
La Salle will take on Villanova next on Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Wells Fargo Center at 1 p.m. The game will be aired live on Fox Sports 1.
Drexel will also take to the court on Sunday at Robert Morris University to compete against the Colonials at 2 p.m.