CAA Tournament: Quarterfinal Hoops on the Harbor in Baltimore

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TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Drexel’s 60-Point Second Half Can’t Overtake Northeastern

Mar 8, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Northeastern Huskies guard T.J. Williams (10) is fouled by Drexel Dragons guard Tavon Allen (11) in the second half during the Colonial Athletic Conference basketball tournament at Mariner Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /

BALTIMORE — One of the Colonial Athletic Association’s preseason favorites, the Drexel Dragons’ once-promising season never quite took shape.

Through injuries and inconsistent play, Drexel (16-14, 8-9 CAA) battled hard and tried to put everything together in time for when it counted most, in the CAA tournament.

Yet much like their season, the fourth-seeded Dragons ultimately ran out of time on Saturday, as they fell, 90-81, to the fifth-seeded Northeastern Huskies (11-20, 8-9 CAA), at the Baltimore Arena, despite scoring a season-high 60 second-half points.

Senior guard Chris Fouch did all he could in that stanza, scoring 26 of his game-high 30 points after intermission, before leaving the floor for a final time in his stellar college career.

Guard Frantz Massenat’s 19 points and 11 from forward Rodney Williams weren’t enough to contend with Northeastern’s blend of size and quickness, as the Huskies got a team-bests of 23 points and 15 rebounds from forward Scott Eatherton, along with reserve forward Zach Stahl’s 19 points and 12 boards, guard David Walker’s 18 points and guard T.J. Williams’ 12 points (10 of which came from the foul line, to mask his poor 1-for-6 shooting).

That production, as well as Northeastern overcoming an early 11-4 deficit, to lead, 33-17, after a 29-6 run, had the Dragons playing catch-up over the final 30 minutes.

Drexel shot 56.4 percent (22-for-39) in the second half after shooting just 30.8 percent (8-for-26) in the opening stanza. But the Huskies, which shot 41.4 percent (12-for-29) in the first half, made a blistering 65.2 percent (15-for-23) of their shots after halftime. They also went 23-for-31 from the foul line in the second half, a product of both the referees becoming whistle-happy and the Dragons fouling early to try to extend the game as long as they could.

Ultimately, that time ran out, on the game and on a season that the talented Dragons could never quite piece together.

Head coach Bill Coen classily paid homage to Drexel’s departing senior group, saying, “I just want to congratulate the Drexel Dragon program, and specifically their seniors. They’ve had such a great career and we’ve enjoyed competing against them. We have the utmost respect for everything they’ve done and how they’ve represented themselves and how they’ve competed year in and year out.”

Northeastern barely eclipsed its previous season-high for points, which ironically was 88, in an overtime loss at Drexel.

“The big key for us was controlling the backboards,” Coen said, of his team, which held a 42-31 edge on the glass, including 25-14 in the second half. “I thought that rebounding was ultimately the key to our success today.”

Eatherton, whose play was praised by Coen, said, “We kind of surprised ourselves (with taking such a big first-half lead). We kind of thought it was going to be a lot closer.”

They might have to shock themselves even more in their next game.

Once a struggling program when the two schools were America East Conference rivals, the Huskies will make their forth CAA semifinal appearance in five years, and will have to go through top-seeded Delaware on Sunday to have the chance of playing for a CAA title on Monday.