Givens, Massenat Lead Drexel To 71-55 CAA Men's Basketball Victory Over Delaware
January 28, 2012
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Photos Courtesy of Mark Jordan
• Boxscore
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Drexel forward Samme Givens posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds while guard Frantz Massenat added 19 points to lead the Dragons to a 71-55 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball victory over the University of Delaware Saturday afternoon at the Daskalakis Center.
Givens went 9 of 15 from the field while Massenat was 5 of 7 from the floor and hit all eight of his free throw attempts as the Dragons won their ninth consecutive game while improving to 17-5 overall and 9-2 in league play. The Dragons, now winners ot 15 of their last 16 contests since a 71-60 loss at Delaware on Dec. 3, also got 10 points from Chris Fouch and a game-high 11 rebounds from Daryl McCoy.
Sophomore guard Devon Saddler (at left) scored 22 points while surpassing the 20-point mark for the ninth time this season for the Blue Hens, who dropped to 9-12 overall and 5-6 in the conference. Freshman Jarvis Threatt (at right) came off the bench to contribute 16 points, as he reached double figures for the fifth time during his rookie campaign. Josh Brinkley had seven points and five boards for UD, while Jamelle Hagins posted six points, five rebounds and four blocks. However Kyle Anderson, the Blue Hens’ third leading scorer, was shut out for the second straight game and did not score a point in two meetings against Drexel this season.
The Dragons had their way inside against the Blue Hens, holding a 44-26 advantage in points in the paint and enjoying a 41-28 rebounding edge. The Dragons shot 47.2 percent from the field (25 of 53) while Drexel, the league’s top defensive team by allowing just 54.3 points per game, limited the Blue Hens to 17 of 50 shooting for a 34.0 field goal percentage.
“Congratulations to Drexel, Bruiser (Flint) has them playing really well right now,” said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. “We did a decent job guarding their three-point shooters, but their post players played really well against us. Our margin of error when we play them is small and we needed our big guys to be effective, but they weren’t able to do that today. Drexel did a really good job on Jamelle, and that was the difference in the game.”
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Delaware led for the first 10 minutes of the contest, and held a three-point advantage until a 7-0 Drexel spurt put the Dragons in front 17-13 on a Fouch layup at the 8:54 mark. The Blue Hens were down just a point when Hagins converted a jump hook in the paint, but the Dragons again scored seven consecutive points to extend the margin to 26-18 with five and a half minutes to play in the period.
Two free throws by Threatt pulled Delaware within 31-26 with 1:02 on the clock but Drexel ended the half with a third 7-0 run, capped with a Fouch three-pointer just before the buzzer, to take a 38-26 halftime lead.
After two Drexel free throws opened the second half scoring, Delaware pulled within 42-32 at the 16:22 mark on two free throws by Hagins and a turnaround jumper by Brinkley. Givens answered with a follow for the Dragons, but Khalid Lewis hit a free throw before a jumper by Saddler cut the UD deficit to single digits at 44-35 with 14 minutes to play.
However Drexel countered by scoring 10 of the next 11 points, including the first six by Massenat, to extend the margin to 54-36 and force a Blue Hen time out with 7:48 left. Delaware would not get closer than 13 the rest of the way, with the Dragons taking their largest lead of the afternoon at 19 in the final minute.
Drexel, which held its 11th consecutive opponent under the 60-point mark, posted its fourth straight win over Delaware in Philadelphia.
The Blue Hens will look to snap a two-game slide on Wednesday when Delaware hosts George Mason at 7 p.m.
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