The Dragons started slow from the floor, but La Salle essentially mirrored the cold shooting. The second half began with La Salle leading by 11 points, and with just under three minutes to play the gap was the same.
They stayed within reach all afternoon long, but sloppy basketball kept the Dragons from ever closing the gap.
Drexel committed 16 turnovers, six coming from freshman point guard Rashann London. Head coach James “Bruiser” Flint was visibly displeased with London’s turnover problem as the freshman succumbed to occasional full-court press from the Explorers.
And despite a limited performance from La Salle big man Steve Zack, who finished the game with four points and seven rebounds before fouling out with four minutes to play, Drexel couldn’t find many ways to convert on the offensive end.
The Dragons finished 20 of 51 from the field, with 11 of those makes coming from guards Damion Lee and Rashann London.
First half
In the beginning, nothing was pretty.
Neither team had any semblance of offensive rhythm for the first 10 minutes of the game. At one point the Dragons went nine and a half minutes without scoring a single point, and 10 minutes without making a field goal. They managed to sink just two of their first 14 field goal attempts.
But La Salle didn’t capitalize on Drexel’s ineptitude from the field, nearly equalling the failure from the floor. When forward Mohamed Bah sunk a pair of free throws for the team’s first points in over nine minutes, Drexel was down by just six points.
The two squads eventually found their shooting touch, and La Salle finished the first half with 13 points in the final four minutes of play.
Junior Drexel guard Tavon Allen scored three points on 1-of-7 shooting in 13 first-half minutes. It was his first playing time since returning from a knee injury.
Sophomore guard Cleon Roberts lead the Explorers with 10 first-half points. Junior guard Damion Lee led the Dragons with nine points.
Performance of the day
Drexel junior guard Damion Lee scored 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. He hit 2 of 3 shots from behind the arc, and added nine rebounds.
Inside the box score
34 of La Salle’s 65 points came from bench players, compared to 14 for Drexel.
The Explorers dominated the paint, scoring 32 points close to the hoop. The Dragons scored 24 points in the paint.
Allen’s return
Junior guard Tavon Allen returned from a knee injury and played his first minutes since Nov. 30. Allen scored 14 points on 15 shots and didn’t seem to be bothered by his injury.
What’s next?
The Dragons (2-6) hit the road for the first time since late November and head to the University of Buffalo (5-2) on Dec. 16 at 7:00 p.m.
La Salle (5-4) returns home to host American University (5-4) on Dec. 16 at 7:00 p.m.