Breakfast at the Falls: Dragons and Purple Eagles Meet at 8 a.m. on ESPN
Derrick Thomas had 14 points in his debut at Saint Joseph's
The Drexel men's basketball team takes on Niagara on Tuesday morning in a nationally televised game on ESPN. The Dragons and Purple Eagles tip-off at 8 a.m. as part of ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. The 8 a.m. game will mark the first time the network has ever showed a live college basketball game at that time.
Drexel lost its opener at Saint Joseph's on Friday night, 77-67, in overtime. Jamie Harris tied a career-high with 20 points and put the Dragons ahead with 9.3 seconds to go. The lead was short lived as the Hawks tied the game with 3.7 seconds left to send the game into the extra session. Leon Spencer had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds and freshman Derrick Thomas added 14 points in his collegiate debut.
The Niagara Purple Eagles, who narrowly lost to Auburn in their opener, are coming off one of the best seasons in school history. Joe Mihalich’s squad won 26 games, the most at the school in one year since the 1921-22 team won 27 games. The Purple Eagles earned an NIT berth. Niagara has four starters returning, including Tyrone Lewis. He led the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game and made 99 three-pointers. Villanova transfer Bilal Benn averaged 9.3 rebounds to go along with 13.8 points.
This is the second straight year the Dragons have participated in ESPN's 24 hours of basketball. Last year, Drexel defeated Penn at the DAC in the opener, which began at 10 a.m.