Drexel Stuns #23 Syracuse, 84-79

Tuesday, December 19

Carrier Dome

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Drexel

Demetris Nichols tallied a career-high 31 points versus Drexel.

12/19/2006 6:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score
Coach Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse Player Quotes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Drexel (7-2) posted its second straight upset against a BIG EAST team, defeating 23^rd-ranked Syracuse (9-3) by the score of 84-79 at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday, Dec. 19. The Dragons overcame a career game from Orange senior Demetris Nichols who finished with a personal-best 31 points.

Trailing by eight with 14:28 to play, Drexel used a 19-4 run during the game's next five minutes to build a 64-57 advantage that it didn't relinquish. Four different Dragons hit 3-pointers in the stretch. A jumper by Frank Elegar extended Drexel's lead to 10, 71-61, with 5:37 left, but Nichols tallied 10 consecutive Orange points to cut the margin to 76-71 with two minutes left. After a Drexel free throw, a Josh Wright layup made the score 77-73 at the 1:24 mark. The Dragons' Chaz Crawford and SU rookie Paul Harris traded free throws and Elegar hit two more charity shots to extend the advantage to 81-75. Harris converted a three-point play seconds later to pull the Orange within three, but the Dragons held on for the victory.

Nichols was 10-for-22 shooting from the field, including three 3-pointers. Nichols passed Adrian Autry and Jason Hart to move into eighth on the school's all-time 3-point field goals made list. He has 140 career triples. It was Nichols' seventh game with at least 20 points in SU's last eight outings. He also tied his career high with four blocked shots in the contest and sank a personal-best eight free throws, going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Nichols contributed nine rebounds as well, one off his personal best.

Senior center Darryl Watkins registered his fifth career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the contest. He had eight points and eight rebounds in the first period. Wright was also in double figures for the Orange. He netted 11 points.

Drexel held a 20-18 lead with 11:19 to play in the opening period thanks to the play of senior Dominick Mejia and Elegar. The duo combined for 18 of the Dragons' first 20 points with Mejia dropping in 10 and Elegar chipping in eight.

Nichols kept SU in the game with 15 points in the game's first 11 minutes, including a jumper that knotted the contest, 23-23, at the 9:02 mark. Nichols' hot hand didn't faze the Dragons as they reeled off the game's next five points to take a 28-23 margin at 7:34. From there Syracuse took over, responding with a 15-4 run of its own to claim a 38-32 lead with 2:20 to go in the first half. Watkins keyed the spurt with six consecutive points to give the Orange a 33-32 edge. Sophomore Andy Rautins connected on a three and senior Terrence Roberts converted a layup before an Elegar jumper pulled Drexel within four, 38-34, with 1:38 to go before halftime. Rautins struck again though, canning a three with four seconds left in the period to push the Orange's margin to 43-36 at the break.

Syracuse shot a blistering 54.2 percent from the field (13-24) in the first half to help overcome 11 turnovers in the period. The Orange also connected on 12-of-14 free throws in the first stanza.

After a Nichols three-point play extended SU's lead to 10 at the beginning of the second half, Drexel scored nine of the game's next 12 points to make the score 49-45 with 15:54 remaining, but baskets by Wright and Harris widened the gap to 53-45 at the 14:28 mark before Drexel's game-sealing surge.

Elegar led the Dragons with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Mejia tallied 16 points. Bashir Mason notched five steals to go along with 14 points.

Drexel was 15-of-30 (50 percent) from the floor in the second half. After SU's hot start, it hit just 31.7 percent of its field goal attempts (13-41) in the second frame. The Orange did connect on a season-best 87.5 percent of its free throws against the Dragons (21-24). SU also held the edge on the boards, 44-36.

The Orange will face its second straight Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) opponent on Friday, Dec. 22 when it hosts Hofstra at 7:00 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The SU women's team is also in action at home on Friday. It hosts Canisius at 12:00 p.m.