PHILADELPHIA (TribeAthletics.com) – Nathan Knight scored a game-high 28 points, but Drexel shot 54.5% from the floor, including 61.5% in the second half, to hand William & Mary its first Colonial Athletic Association loss of the season, 84-57, on Saturday afternoon at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
Knight scored 28 points on 11-of-22 shooting, including a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. He came up just one rebound shy of a double-double tallying a team-high nine. Knight moved into fourth place on the Tribe’s career scoring list, passing John Lowenhaupt ’78. Sophomore Thornton Scott and junior Luke Loewe both finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Drexel (12-8, 5-2 CAA) scored nine of the game’s first 11 points and took a double-digit lead, 34-24, to the locker room thanks to 10 first-half points from Zach Walton, who scored 23 for the game on 8-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3.
Knight tallied the Tribe’s first 10 points of the second half as W&M (14-6, 6-1 CAA) closed the gap to 41-34. The 6-10 center scored on consecutive putbacks to force a Dragons’ timeout just four minutes into the frame.
Drexel answered with seventh-straight points to re-establish a double-digit cushion. The Tribe closed to within nine on a Scott 3-pointer with 9:23 remaining, but the Dragons hit nine-straight shots and connected on 10 of their final 13 from the field in pulling away.
Along with Walton’s 23 points, Camren Wynter scored 20 points and James Butler added a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double.
How It Happened
– Drexel hit three of its first four shots from the floor and scored nine of the game’s first 11 points. Zach Walton tallied the Dragon’s first seven before James Butler’s putback just over two minutes into the game put the home team on top, 9-2.
– W&M used a 7-2 run to close with two. Thornton Scott found Andy Van Vliet for a right-wing 3-point to close the gap to 11-9 with 14:31 left.
– Drexel responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Sam Green and Mate Okros to push the lead to 17-9 at the 13:19 mark.
– Drexel scored six-straight points, including four from Camren Wynter, to open up a double-digit lead. Wytner’s fastbreak lay-up with 9:14 left extended the Dragon advantage to 25-14.
– After Nathan Knight hit a right-wing 3-pointer to close the gap to seven, Drexel scored five in a row to take its largest lead of the first half. Walton’s 3-pointer with 2:12 left in the half pushed the DU lead to 34-22.
– Knight scored the Tribe’s first 10 points of the second half. His consecutive offensive putbacks closed the gap to 41-34 and forced a Drexel timeout with 16:01 left.
– Seven-straight Drexel points pushed the lead out to 14. Walton tallied five in a row and a Wynter baseline jumper stretched the DU margin to 48-34 with 14:24 left.
– Luke Loewe and Scott connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to draw W&M with 53-44 with 9:23 remaining.
– Drexel used a 9-0 run to stretch the lead out and force a W&M timeout with 6:15 left. Coletrane Washington hit a triple to start the run and Wynter added four, including a jumper to give the Dragons a 66-48 lead.
– After Loewe’s 3-pointer at the 10:42 mark of the second half made it, 51-41, Drexel hit nine-straight shots from the floor to put the game out of reach.
Inside the Numbers
– The Tribe shot just 37.3% (22-of-59) from the floor, including 5-of-22 (22.7%) beyond the 3-point arc.
– Drexel connected on 54.5% (30-of-55) for the game and a 61.5% (16-of-26) in the second half.
– The Dragons hit 9-of-18 (50%) from 3-point range.
– W&M turned the ball over just eight times and only three in the second half. It marks the third-straight game with fewer than 10 turnovers for W&M.
– Drexel held a 40-26 advantage on the glass.
Up Next
– The Tribe returns home to open a season-long four-game homestand beginning on Thursday, Jan. 23, against James Madison. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Kaplan Arena.
