By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
James Madison (10-8, 3-2) 54, Drexel (3-13, 1-4) 35 – Box Score
It’s hardly top secret information that injuries have wrecked havoc on the Drexel roster this season. In fact, after Tyshawn Myles missed the last 2 practices due to illness (leaving him limited to 3 minutes of gametime), Coach Bruiser Flint was basically left with 7 players at his disposal against JMU. The Dragons have been so thinned out that Flint even held open tryouts among the student body earlier this week. Unfortunately during those sessions, he wasn’t able to unearth anyone capable of putting the ball through the basket. Drexel was held to just 35 points in their latest loss to the Dukes, that total tying the fewest points in a game for the Dragons during Flint’s 14-year tenure.
Things actually started out well for Drexel amidst an early slew of James Madison turnovers. Following a Damion Lee three-pointer, the Dragons had themselves a 9-0 lead with 15:03 left in the first half. Shockingly however, that triple from Lee was the final field goal Drexel would make until they came back out of the locker room. The Dragons went 6 minutes without scoring a point, missing 19 straight shots from the floor, a time during which the Dukes went on a 17-3 run to enter the break ahead 5 points. Speaking to his team’s offensive struggles after the game, a weary Flint stated, “We scored 35 points…We forced some, but I wouldn’t say we forced a lot. Guys were open, got to make a play.”
After the restart of play to begin the second half, JMU began to pull away behind the play of 6’8″ sophomore big man Yohanny Dalembert. Dalembert, a Lower Merion grad and the younger brother of former Sixer Sam Dalembert, was the lone force on the interior for either side, shooting 6-7 for a game-high 15 points. He scored 7 points during a pivotal first 4 minutes of the second half, as the Dukes opened up a double-digit lead. Still, the defensive end of the floor wasn’t the problem for the Dragons, as Flint acknowledged after the game, “54 points. So from a defensive standpoint…you’re not gonna ask much more.” With Drexel shooting 24% from the field on the evening (12-50), a double-digit lead basically felt like triple digits.
Damion Lee, who entered play 7th in the nation in scoring at 20.8 ppg, was, as is often the case, a lone bright spot for Drexel. Lee was the only Dragon who found any success from the outside against the Dukes, hitting 3 of his 6 shots behind the arc (and 5-12 overall) for a team-high 14 points. Flint, speaking to his star’s production: “Guys don’t make a play, everybody just goes to Damion Lee. I don’t blame them, they should, but you got to make a play.” Asked why Lee only received 12 shots, Flint responded, “If you watched the other guys on the team shoot, would you let Damion Lee get shots off?”
James Madison was playing without last year’s leading scorer, Andre Nation, who was dismissed from the team earlier this week. The program gave no reported reason for the dismissal, although rumors were swirling about a number of off-the-court incidents, including a misdemeanor assault charge in the fall. In his stead, junior Winston Grays drew the start and recorded 11 points and 7 rebounds in 36 minutes.
For the Dragons, there’s not much to be encouraged about in this defeat. You just have to hope the shots begin to fall, but for a team among the worst in the nation at 38% from the field, it doesn’t seem like that will be the case. Drexel will be back in action Saturday night against Delaware; hopefully facing the rival Blue Hens will bring out the best in the Dragons. Until then, think back to the glory days Drexel fans.
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