Drexel Welcomes William And Mary To The DAC Saturday
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Drexel Dragons will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday as they battle William and Mary for a second time this season, this time at the DAC.
Last time out on Monday, the Dragons lost at home to rival Delaware, 90-77.
"They are probably playing better basketball than anybody in the conference right now," Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint tells KYW Newsradio about the Blue Hens. "They score the ball, that's what they do, they really score it. We had trouble guarding them and those guys were able to come out with a good win."
The Dragons have really been hammered by injuries this season. They did get sophomore guard/forward Tavon Allen (ankle) back against the Blue Hens and senior forward Dartaye Ruffin (calf) returned to the starting line-up, but Flint says his squad is still not 100%.
"Still not getting them on the practice (court), that's the big thing," Flint says. "When guys are totally healthy, then you can get them out there. Tavon had a pretty good game (17 points against Delaware), but he was still out there on one leg. Hopefully, we can get (junior forward) Kaz (Abif - knee) back soon. Dartaye seems like he is starting to round into shape a little bit. We've got to get these guys out practicing. It's funny, I started the year with 14 players, and I only had nine for practice this week. Hopefully, these guys can continue to work to get back on the court and we can get these guys out to practice. When they start to practice, then I'll know we're getting back to full strength."
Despite all the injuries, Drexel is still 10-8 and they have been able to grab a couple of conference wins while mixing and matching line-ups.
"For as many guys as we've had out, and for us to be 2-3 (in the Colonial Athletic Association) at this point, I think you've got to commend the guys for the job they've done," Flint says.
Back on January 8th, Drexel lost at William and Mary, 85-73, down in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Tribe buried 11 three-pointers in the win.
"Eight of their threes were with seven seconds or less on the shot clock," Flint says. "So we've got to do a better job of staying disciplined defensively. We've got to stay on top of them on the three-point line. They're another team that scores the ball because they shoot a lot of threes. So we've got to get a lot better defensively than we were when we played them the first time."
William and Mary brings a 10-7 record into this game. They are 2-2 in the CAA.
Drexel and William and Mary will tip-off at 4:00pm at the DAC.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.