The Drexel University men’s basketball team traveled to North Charleston, South Carolina, to play the College of Charleston in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association championships. Charleston was the third seed with a record of 23-8, 12-6 CAA and Drexel was the sixth seed with a record of 13-18, 7-11 CAA. The game took place March 10. Drexel lost to Charleston 73-61.
Charleston was in full control of the Dragons in the first half, forcing 10 turnovers. The Dragons struggled in the first half shooting as a team making only 32 percent of their shots and going 12 percent from three-point range. The lone bright spot for Drexel in the first half was sophomore James Butler who nearly had a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds in only 12 minutes of play. Charleston was led by junior Grant Riller who scored 12 of his 24 points in the first half. Charleston shot an impressive 48 percent in the first half while making 36 percent of the their three-pointers.
The Dragons continued their season-long theme of playing much better in the second half as they outscored Charleston 37-35. The Dragons were able to shoot the ball much better in the second half shooting 48 percent on field goals and 36 percent on three-pointers. Despite the second half production from the Dragons, Charleston’s 14-point halftime lead was too much to overcome.
The loss to Charleston marked the end of the 2018-19 season for the Drexel Dragons. The Dragons finished the season at 13-19, 7-11 CAA which is almost identical to last season where they finished 13-20, 6-12 CAA. Despite the losing record, the Dragons showed that they have a lot of potential and just need to improve on playing well for a full game. There were too many games lost because the team was down in the first half despite playing extremely well and outscoring their opponents in the second half.
One of the most impressive players for the Dragons this season was freshman Camren Wynter who won CAA Rookie of the Year. On the year, Wynter averaged 11.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Departing from the Dragons will be graduate transfer Trevor John and senior Troy Harper who led the Dragons in scoring but missed the last few games of the season due to an injury suffered at practice.
A bittersweet end to a season with lots of highs and lows. It will be interesting to see how the team approves in the off-season months ahead and how a new recruiting class could add more depth to the roster.