Mason holds off Drexel

Well it was not pretty but the Patriots escaped from the DAC with a victory. A victory that easily could have been a melt-down in the closing seconds as Drexel, down by three with three seconds remaining saw Scott Rogers drive to the basket (going for 2, not 3 mind you) and get intentionally fouled by Darryl Monroe. The result gave Rogers two free throws and then possession back to the Dragons. I don't know what was more of a dumb move, Rogers driving the lane as time was expiring when down by three or Monroe bailing him out for the dumb move by horse-collar tackling him. After the Patriots started off the second half on a 17-4 run you would have thought the Patriots offensive fire power was too much for Drexel, but they responded with their own run late in the game. The Dragons, who have had trouble putting points on the board this season, made the Patriots play their style of grind it out basketball. With no real star power on offense that was really the only way they were going to come out on top and coach Bruiser Flint knew that. The Patriots started out the second half flying up and down the court and scoring points off turnovers but that was quickly subsided by the Dragon's defense. Despite this, Mason still protected the ball well and had a balance attack as eight of nine players who entered the game scored. Usually that is the formula for success for Larranaga but poor rebounding really killed a lot of chances for Mason and gave Drexel a lot of second chance points late in the game. Forwards Darryl Monroe and Louis Birdsong were more involved in this one but I still feel like we could have saw more from them late in the game. John Vaughan and Dre Smith continue to start off games flat and it hurts the Patriots on the road. Dre is currently 7 for 41 from the three-point line, how long before Andre Cornelius is starting over him? Despite still making some rookie mistakes, Cornelius has still looked really good so far. Against the Dragons he was blowing past defenders all day long and really showcasing his speed. He's one of the quickest guard in the CAA and I believe it's only a matter of time before he starts to take over games.