Drexel’s Dragons Turn Into NCAA Slayers

Drexel Coach Bill Herrion doesn’t take offense to people who have never heard of the small Philadelphia school.

“Heck, I didn’t know who Drexel was until I took the job,” said Herrion, a fifth-year coach.

Well, Memphis certainly found out more about Drexel than it wanted Thursday in West Regional as the No. 12-seeded Dragons stunned the No. 5-seeded Tigers, 75-63.

Malik Rose had 21 points and 15 rebounds as Drexel (27-3) extended the nation’s second-longest winning streak to 15 games. The Dragons play No. 4-seeded Syracuse in the second round Saturday.

Drexel, which has an enrollment of 4,073 students, gets little attention in Philadelphia, where Big Five members Villanova, Penn, Temple, La Salle and St. Joseph’s dominate the headlines and recruiting.

But the Dragons’ first NCAA tournament victory in their fourth appearance should change their also-ran status.

“We’re a game away from the Sweet 16 and for a school like us, it’s a dream come true,” said Herrion.

Drexel took the lead for good about seven minutes into the game as Memphis (22-8) struggled with its shooting (40%) in the first half and never recovered.

Rose, a senior from Philadelphia, became the third player in school history to score 600 or more points in a single season while also going over the 2,000-point mark. He has 2,013 points.

Rose is also the third-leading rebounder on the NCAA’s modern list behind Derrick Coleman of Syracuse and Ralph Sampson of Virginia.

“To come in and do what we did is remarkable,” said Rose, who kept playing after twisting his right ankle in the second half. “I’m really proud to be a part of it.”

Purdue 73, Western Carolina 71--The Boilermakers (26-5) came close to becoming the first top-seeded team to lose to a 16th-seeded team as the Catamounts (17-13) missed two shots in the final seconds.

Purdue’s Brad Miller missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11.6 seconds, Joel Fleming slowly brought the ball upcourt for Western Carolina and then put up a high-arching shot from the top of the key that missed. The rebound came out to teammate Joe Stafford, who tried a running 15-foot shot that also missed as the buzzer sounded.

It was the first NCAA tournament appearance for Western Carolina, which got a game-high 21 points from its leading scorer Anquell McCollum. Purdue, making its 15th NCAA appearance, got 17 points from Brandon Brantley, who scored the game’s decisive basket with 1:29 left on a follow shot.

Purdue plays No. 8-seeded Georgia in the second round Saturday.

Syracuse 88, Montana State 55--Forwards John Wallace and Todd Burgen had 18 and 17 points, respectively, to allow the Orangemen (25-8) to overcome a record-shooting performance by the Bobcats’ Quadre Lollis.

Lollis, who led the nation in field-goal percentage at .655, made 12 of 13 shots and finished with 26 points. His field-goal percentage of .923 broke the West Regional record of .882 by Dennis Awtrey of Santa Clara in 1970.

But Syracuse put the clamps on the rest the Montana State players with a 2-3 zone defense as they missed 35 of 46 shots.

Lollis scored 16 points in the first half and No. 13-seeded Montana State (21-9) trailed by only four points at halftime. Wallace scored six points to lead an 18-6 run in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the second half that put Syracuse in control.

Georgia 81, Clemson 74--The Bulldogs (20-9), with an all-senior starting lineup, won their first NCAA tournament game in 11 years.

The game was tied for a seventh time, 55-55, with 6:44 left when Georgia broke it open with an 11-0 run. Shandon Anderson and Carlos Strong both had 20 points for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore Greg Buckner, the only non-freshman starter for ninth-seeded Clemson (18-11), also had 20 points.

Clemson and Georgia, located 80 miles apart, are rivals in football but have played only one other game against each other in basketball since 1964.