PHILADELPHIA – Elon University men’s basketball fell to the Drexel Dragons 83-79 on Thursday night, Jan. 25, inside the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
Tyler Seibring paced Elon (12-10, 4-5 CAA) with 19 points and four rebounds. Additionally, Steven Santa Ana and Sheldon Eberhardt scored 13 points apiece and Dmitri Thompson added 11 to Elon’s scoring. Dainan Swoope dished out a game-high seven assists for the Phoenix.
“This was a tough loss tonight,” said head coach Matt Matheny. “This is an ultra-competitive league, and we didn’t get enough stops down the stretch to pull out the victory.”
Tramaine Isabell had a huge night for Drexel (8-14, 2-7 CAA) scoring 40 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the floor and 7-of-11 from three. He also grabbed six rebounds and had three assists. Troy Harper added 14 points, Alihan Demir chipped in 11 points, and Austin Williams grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Drexel came out firing in the second half, scoring 52 points on 56.7 percent shooting, which included 28 from Isabell. The Dragons rallied from a three-point halftime deficit and as much as a seven-point deficit in the second half to rally for the win. The Phoenix finished shooting 49.2 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from three.
HIGHLIGHTS
Brian Dawkins made two three-pointers in the first five minutes, scoring six of Elon’s first eight points, to give the Phoenix an 8-7 lead at the first media with 15:36 on the clock.
The Phoenix continued to hold a one-point lead until the 12:51 mark, 13-12, but then used a 12-3 run to take a 10-point advantage 25-15 with 9:39 on the clock. Drexel answered with a 10-1 spurt over a 3:19 span to slice Elon’s lead to 26-25.
Back-to-back jumpers from Thompson gave the Phoenix a 30-25 cushion. Both teams traded baskets over the next 3:31 and Elon held a 34-31 lead at the break.
The Dragons opened the half with four straight points to take a 35-34 lead, but the Phoenix used an 11-3 run to take a 45-38 lead after Seibring drained a three with 15:40 remaining in the half. After the Phoenix took a 53-47 lead, Drexel responded with a 7-2 run to cut Elon’s lead to 55-54 after Isabell’s layup at the 10:15 mark.
An 8-2 Elon run capped off by Thompson’s jumper put Elon on top 63-56, but the Dragons came right back using a 7-2 run to take a 65-63 lead and an 11-4 surge over a 2:48 span to tie the contest at 67-67.
Elon put together a 5-0 run to take a 72-67 lead, but Isabell scored 10 unanswered points, capped off by three free throws to give Drexel a 77-72 lead with 1:24 remaining.
Eberhardt found Seibring on a drive-and-kick with 1:11 on the clock in the right corner for a clutch three-pointer to cut Drexel’s lead 77-74. The Apex, N.C. junior then drove to the bucket for two to answer another Dragon layup to make it a 79-76 contest.
Drexel made its free throws down the stretch and the Phoenix managed to just make one more layup in the 35 seconds as Drexel held on for the 83-79 win.
NOTES
– Tyler Seibring extends his double-digit scoring streak to 10 games after scoring 19 points against the Dragons.
– Sheldon Eberhardt scored 13 points against Drexel, his fourth double-digit scoring game this season and the first since Dec. 7, 2017 at UNCG.
– Dainan Swoope tied a season-high with seven assists, matching his previous season-best of seven against UNCW on Jan. 11.
– The Phoenix drops to 3-8 on the road this season with the loss and has now lost three straight contests.
– Swoope chipped in nine points against the Dragons and is now 47 points away from becoming the 42nd player in program history to reach 1,000-career points.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix ends the week with a trip to Towson on Saturday, Jan. 27, to face the Tigers inside SECU Arena. College Sports Live’s CAA “Game of the Week” will tip off at 7 p.m.