All you need to know about the style of the Drexel Dragons is embodied in the name of their coach – Bruiser Flint.
So in preparation for his team’s grudge match with George Mason, Flint showed his team some game tape. Actually it was film of a fight – “The Thrilla in Manila,” the famed boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
Recommended Stories
Wednesday night at the Patriot Center, almost as many blows were thrown. The last haymaker that connected – a put-back by Mason center Darryl Monroe with seven seconds left that gave the Patriots a 49-48 victory.
After Monroe (15 points, 9 rebounds) scored seven points in the final 4:35, he joined John Vaughan (7 points, 8 rebounds) at an interview table. They looked exhausted, physically beaten, and emotionally drained.
GMU at CreightonWhen » Saturday, 9:30Where » Qwest Center, OmahaTV/Radio » ESPNU/1260 AM
In the seventh annual ESPN BracketBusters event, with matches top teams from mid-major conferences, Mason visits Creighton (22-6). The Jays of the Missouri Valley Conference have won seven straight behind senior G Booker Woodfox (15.9 points per game), sophomore G P’Allen Stinnett (12.7 ppg), and sophomore C Kenny Lawson Jr. (8.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.6 bpg). Coach Dana Altman (304-158), who has led the perennial power to 10 straight 20-win seasons, rotates 10 players in an up-tempo system.
“We’re going to a basketball game and ended up going to a wrestling match,” said Mason coach Jim Larranaga. “I told the team beforehand, it’s not exactly going to be a finesse game, it’s going to be a street fight.”
With its second one-point victory over Drexel, Mason (18-8, 11-5) went a long way toward clinching a bye in the opening round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, which begins March 6 in Richmond.
To win Wednesday, Mason needed to dig deep. The Patriots seemed shocked by the aggression of the Dragons, failed to score in the first 5 minutes, 22 seconds, and fell behind by as many as 11 points. The rest of the first half was about playing catching up.
That set the scene for a riveting second half slugfest in which neither team led by more than three points. No shot went uncontested. Every basket was earned. Drexel shot 35 percent, Mason 34.
“We watched the ‘Thrilla in Manila,’” said Flint. “Joe Frazier got beat. But Joe Frazier was battling. We talked about that. We knew coming in here, it was going to be one of those kind of fights.”
Drexel (14-11, 10-6) got the upper hand late when forward Evan Neisler (14 points, 11 rebounds) hit two free throws, guard Scott Rodgers (12 points) followed with two more, and Neisler added a reverse layup with 3 minutes left that put the Dragons up 46-43.
Drexel retained its three-point lead when Rodgers hit a driving layup with 62 seconds left. But Monroe went to work, grinding inside for a foul and two free throws that made it 48-47 with 42 seconds left.
After Drexel’s Leon Spencer missed a one-and-one free throw with 35 seconds left, Mason called time and set up a final play.
“We told the guys the guards are going to handle the ball, the big guys are going to ball screen,” said Larranaga. “Everybody look to take the ball to the basket. Be aggressive. Get fouled. Make your shot. Get it up on the glass and let the big guys attack the glass.”
The Patriots followed the instructions well. Guard Dre Smith drove inside and missed a heavily contested layup, but Monroe was there to snatch the ball off the rim and lay it off the backboard for a 49-48 lead with 7 seconds to go.
“Share the ball, attack the basket,” said Monroe of the instructions in the huddle. “Coach [Chris] Caputo told me to hit the offensive boards. That’s what I tried to do.”
Mason still had to sweat out Drexel’s final possession. Rodgers drove the length of the floor but lost the ball in the lane. Spencer recovered for Drexel and got off a jumper from the lane, but it rolled off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
“They got it going. The crowd was good. The band was loud as hell,” said Flint. “They put the band right by your bench. They’ve got the loudest bass I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s a tough place. They play extremely well in this building. But we knew that.”
It was the toughest struggle at home this year as Mason improved to 13-0 at the Patriot Center. Down 14-3 early, the Patriots fought back behind the work of 6-9 freshman reserve Mike Morrison (8 points, 5 rebounds), who hit 4 of 5 shots from the floor.
“I told the team, before the game and at halftime that we needed to have great energy,” said Larranaga. “It didn’t appear to me that we played with the same kind of energy we’ve had at home in some recent games.”
