Basketball, lacrosse seasons captivate Drexel University
By: Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 6/8/07 Section: Sports
Originally published: 6/8/07 at 3:05 AM EST
Last update: 6/8/07 at 3:05 AM EST
Originally published: 6/8/07 at 3:05 AM EST
Last update: 6/8/07 at 3:05 AM EST
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Before the start of the 2006-07 athletic season, Drexel University was primarily known for its demanding and often taxing engineering program.
However, during this year's winter and spring seasons, the men's lacrosse and men's basketball programs brought a University, city and nation on an improbable run toward breaking their respective postseason droughts.
The men's basketball team had one of the biggest winning streaks in the history of the program. A major reason for this was the veteran core that the team had under the direction of head coach Bruiser Flint.
Drexel was able to navigate its way to a 13-5 conference record, which was good enough for fourth place in the conference.
Drexel beat Northeastern in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament, but lost in the semifinals against VCU. With Old Dominion, another potential at large tournament team, losing its semifinal match, Drexel was fairly confident that it would get its bid and go dancing.
The team gathered at MacAlister Hall hoping that it would be one of the teams given an at-large bid and a chance to go on a historic run just as George Mason had done the year before.
However, for a team that had done so much including winning on the road, playing well in conference and having a number of key wins over major conference opponents, Drexel was left on the bubble, with ODU making the field, along with a number of other controversial teams such as Arkansas, Illinois and Stanford.
It was a crushing blow to a team that had worked so hard and established itself as the premiere team in Philadelphia.
However, for a team that had gone 15-16 the year before and lost several close games, Drexel found a way to close those games out in 2007, laying the foundation of what looks to be a bright future.
"We felt we could play and compete with the best and I think we did that," head coach Bruiser Flint said.
Year in lacrosse
The men's lacrosse team needed only one game to make people believers. Just as they did in 2006, the Dragons began their 2007 campaign against Virginia, the preseason No.1 team in the nation. Virginia had won the national championship the year before and had been unbeatable at home winning their last 19 contests. But this didn't faze the Dragons.
However, during this year's winter and spring seasons, the men's lacrosse and men's basketball programs brought a University, city and nation on an improbable run toward breaking their respective postseason droughts.
The men's basketball team had one of the biggest winning streaks in the history of the program. A major reason for this was the veteran core that the team had under the direction of head coach Bruiser Flint.
Drexel was able to navigate its way to a 13-5 conference record, which was good enough for fourth place in the conference.
Drexel beat Northeastern in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament, but lost in the semifinals against VCU. With Old Dominion, another potential at large tournament team, losing its semifinal match, Drexel was fairly confident that it would get its bid and go dancing.
The team gathered at MacAlister Hall hoping that it would be one of the teams given an at-large bid and a chance to go on a historic run just as George Mason had done the year before.
However, for a team that had done so much including winning on the road, playing well in conference and having a number of key wins over major conference opponents, Drexel was left on the bubble, with ODU making the field, along with a number of other controversial teams such as Arkansas, Illinois and Stanford.
It was a crushing blow to a team that had worked so hard and established itself as the premiere team in Philadelphia.
However, for a team that had gone 15-16 the year before and lost several close games, Drexel found a way to close those games out in 2007, laying the foundation of what looks to be a bright future.
"We felt we could play and compete with the best and I think we did that," head coach Bruiser Flint said.
Year in lacrosse
The men's lacrosse team needed only one game to make people believers. Just as they did in 2006, the Dragons began their 2007 campaign against Virginia, the preseason No.1 team in the nation. Virginia had won the national championship the year before and had been unbeatable at home winning their last 19 contests. But this didn't faze the Dragons.
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