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HIGHLIGHTS | PRESS CONFERENCE – TOWSON | PRESS CONFERENCE – DREXEL
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Redshirt sophomore guard Dylan Williamson knocked down a late game-winning 3-pointer, part of a seven-trey, 32-point effort that derailed a valiant Drexel comeback as the top-seeded Tigers earned an 82-76 win over eighth-seeded Dragons. Towson will await the winner of William & Mary and Delaware, squaring off in the 6 p.m. game on Monday.
Seeing its 15-point lead get dwindled down to one, 77-76, with under a minute to play, Towson’s Nendah Tarke stuffed a potential game-tying jumper from Jason Drake with 55 seconds remaining. Williamson, in return, worked the perimeter and pulled up for his seventh and final 3-pointer of the game at 0:25, staving off the Dragons’ second-half push.
Williamson shot 12-of-19 from the floor and 7-of-10 from behind the arc in his career-high performance. Tyler Tejada also shined with 21 points after going 9-for-19 from the field in the win.
Drexel’s Shane Blakeney led four Dragons in double figures with 24 points on a 9-for-11 clip from the field and a 5-for-6 showing from behind the arc. Yame Butler chipped 14 points and three assists, while Kobe MaGee and Drake added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Tejada notched the first six points of the contest, part of a 7-0 run to open the quarterfinal matchup. Blakeney went toe-to-toe with the reigning CAA Player of the Year, hitting a pair of treys before Kobe MaGee cashed in from distance to take a 13-12 lead with 13:32 to left in the first half.
After trading buckets and a trio of lead changes over the next three minutes, Towson scored seven straight points, finished off by a Tarke triple to take a 22-16 lead at 8:34.
Towson started to heat up to end the half, knocking down six of its final eight shots to take with Tejada and Williamson evenly splitting four of the team’s makes to secure a double-digit lead. However, the Dragons’ MaGee pump-faked on the final possession and drove the baseline to sink his up-and-under as time expired to slash Drexel’s deficit to nine, 38-29, at the break.
The two teams went back and forth to open the second half, going shot-for-shot over the first 4:31. The Towson faithful went into a frenzy as Williamson hit a deep trey, followed by a reverse layup that sent Tejada crashing into the hardwood, all within a span of 17 seconds. Williamson continued to connect from distance, with his fourth triple in the first six minutes of the half putting the Tigers ahead, 60-45, with 13:30 on the clock.
Blakeney rattled off eight straight points for the Dragons, but Williamson continued to pour it on with a midrange make and his fifth triple of the half to maintain a double-digit lead, 65-53, with 11:38 to play.
Drexel continued to trim its deficit down to five, 73-68, with under five minutes to play after seeing four different Dragons sink buckets on four straight possessions. Back-to-back treys from MaGee and Blakeney utilize a spin move in the post for a layup made it a one-possession game, 77-76, with 1:50 to play.
Tarke’s block and Williamson’s triple with under a minute to play were vital in holding off the Dragons down the stretch.