Men's Basketball: Crouching Tigers, winning Dragons

The men’s basketball team took its first loss in four games as Drexel won 64-60 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Saturday. The Tigers (4-6) had traveled to Philadelphia optimistic that their recent wins were indicative of improved performance, but a strong Drexel team held on for the win despite not scoring a field goal in the final four minutes and 45 seconds.

The Dragons (3-4) jumped into a 29-24 first-half lead on the back of 12 efficient points by guard Chris Fouch off of the bench. Fouch was Drexel’s leading scorer last season, but he missed the first few games this fall due to an injury.

Fouch drained three of five field goal attempts, including one from long distance, and converted all five of his free throws to keep the Tigers at an arm’s length from the Dragons. Although he cooled off in the second half, he still amassed 23 valuable points over the span of the game.

“Unfortunately, we knew an awful lot about him, and we were worried that he was going to break out at some point,” head coach Mitch Henderson ’98 said in the post-game press conference. “And we did not want him to break out against us, and it was against us.”

Junior forward Ian Hummer powered the Princeton offense once again, scoring 18 points at a 54 percent clip. Senior guard Doug Davis chipped in with 15 but put up 19 shots, including eight from outside the three-point line. Sophomore guard T.J. Bray added nine points and four assists, while junior forward Mack Darrow scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.

Drexel’s field goal drought in the last five minutes allowed the Tigers to sneak a 55-54 lead on the back of an 8-0 run with 1:45 remaining. However, the Dragons limped home for victory courtesy of stellar free throw accuracy, burying all 10 free throw attempts in the last 33 seconds to ensure that the strategically incessant fouling by the Tigers in the final moments came to nought.

In addition to Fouch, guards Frantz Massenat and Damion Lee scored in double digits while combining for nine rebounds and five assists. Massenat and Lee together held their nerves and combined for the 10 free throws in the final minute to pull away from the Tigers.

Forward Samme Givens, who has had a subpar season so far, scored 10 points while making his imposing frame felt in the paint, even though he only notched three rebounds and a block.

“I thought the key to the game was Givens for them,” Henderson said. “We couldn’t stop him except when he was on the bench with his fourth foul.”

Henderson will likely worry about the gulf in rebounding between the two teams. The Dragons grabbed five offensive boards in each half while the visitors pulled down a mere three for the entire game. Drexel’s two starting forwards produced a couple of offensive rebounds apiece while none of the three starting big men for Princeton mustered any. Overall, the Dragons held a 33-26 rebounding edge over the Tigers.

Thus far, the Tigers average about one rebound fewer than their opponents, while last season’s team outrebounded its counterparts by 4.1 rebounds per game. Considering that this season, unlike last year, the Tigers have a lower field goal percentage than their opponents, Henderson will need to figure out how to bring out the best effort on the boards from his team.

Apart from Hummer, no Tiger averages five or more rebounds per game.

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“Ian and I struggled down there a little bit,” Darrow said. “Givens is tough — he’s got a nice lefty hook. [Daryl] McCoy is like a tree down there, he’s just a big guy. They have some nice depth but overall, at the end of the day, it’s on us. I felt it could have been a lot better.”

The Tigers continue their seven-game road trip with a match much closer to home on Wednesday night at Rider.