What could have been a signature win for Drexel’s men’t team slipped away into a hard-to-swallow loss, as they fell, 93-82, to Towson in overtime Saturday at Daskalakis Athletic Center.
Once again, self-inflicted wounds prevented the Dragons from seizing the win. For Towson, Nendah Tarke (27 points) and Dylan Williamson (26) came off the bench to lead the Tigers’ scoring. Drexel’s Yame Butler finished with 21 points, while Cole Hargrove had 19 and Kobe MaGee added 18.
Towson (8-9) entered the matchup 2-1 in CAA play, having split a road trip with an overtime win against University of North Carolina Wilmington and a loss to College of Charleston. The Tigers were the preseason favorites to win the conference, but struggled to find consistency in the nonconference portion of their schedule.
In the first half, both teams were living up to their reputation as hard-nosed defensive units. At the midpoint of the half, the score was knotted at 13. Drexel (10-7, 2-2), however, wasn’t making shots but was effective at drawing fouls.
Butler was 8-for-12 from the foul line in the first half. Hargrove and Victor Panov combined to go 1-for-5 from the free-throw line, resulting in the Dragons making 9 of 17 attempts before halftime. They finished 15-for-27 for the game.
Coach Zach Spiker believes those missed free throws loomed large as the teams entered the half tied.
“We’re tied at 32 at the half, I’d have liked to see, when we’re 9 of 17 from the foul line, we could have been up eight points,” Spiker said. “Maybe it’s a different game.”
In the second half, the defensive battle faded into a slugfest. Hargrove, in particular, was impressive, as the big man did not come off the floor and made 3 of 4 attempts from the line.
At one point, the Dragons held a slim six-point lead over Towson, and with a minute left, it felt like Drexel was about to collect an impressive win in its first home game of conference play.
» READ MORE: Drexel women use balanced scoring to beat Delaware, 65-59, in CAA conference opener
Instead, with 50 seconds left, Tarke nailed back-to-back three-pointers. Now tied at 76, Spiker left the game in the hands of his players, opting to not call a timeout and draw up a play.
With the ball back in their hands, Drexel point guard Deuce Drake dribbled out the shot clock for 23 seconds before taking a step-back three that rimmed out. Towson raced out in transition before finding Tarke, who this time nailed a three-pointer from a foot behind the arc.
“We come down with 15 seconds left, if you call a timeout, you get their defense set. I like our guys. I like our playmaking ability,” Spiker said.
The shot that resulted from this, was a deep and contested MaGee three-pointer that clanked off the left side of the rim.
Overtime began with Butler drawing a foul and missing two free throws, then came a Towson three-pointer, the first points of an eventual 10-0 Towson run that put the game to bed.
“When you lose like this, everything should be under the magnifying glass,” Spiker said. “That’s a locker room that really cares, they’re working really hard. It’s a heartbreaking loss.”
The Dragons return to action on Jan. 16 when they host Elon (11-5, 2-1) at 7 p.m.