

#1 Drexel vs #4 Seton Hall
A moment frozen in time. The errant shot went wildly high in the air bouncing high off the top of the backboard. Hanging above the rim like Polaris in the northern sky, it waited patiently for all observers to catch up. Then ever so slowly, it fell and hit the rim before diving through the hoop and net.
Aaron Wright stared in disbelief then pumped his fist. It had been that kind of night for Seton Hall. Threes going in even when they should not in any other universe.
The same cannot be said for West's Dragons. The mid-major came out swinging, but it was not enough against the Pirates. Drexel was overwhelmed early, and Seton Hall found whatever mid-rage shots it wanted around Drexel's zone. The Pirates took a page from Texas' playbook and swarmed Femi Ramsey early and often, and Ramsey struggled early. But what got the Dragons in a large first half hole was none other than Ramsey's supporting cast.
The Dragons went 0-6 from beyond the arc in the first half. Some of the misses were terrible, and all four of Josh Payton's misses were while he was wide open. Furthermore, the Dragons were having a terrible time defending Seton Hall's shooters. Logon Chandler was abusing Duncan Richard all around the court when the Dragons switched to Man-to-Man, and the 6'10" Small Forward got whatever he wanted around Drexel's 1-3-1 zone. Richard was outclassed -- he could not keep up.
Down in the dumps is not the word to describe Drexel's performance, but they were in trouble and losing grip of the game quickly. Facing a 12 point deficit in the first half, things needed to change fast.
Out of necessity, Coach West brought in Tracey Cottrill. The 7' PF used to be called soft or a dough boy, but he has truly begun to grow into his body with an imposing frame, a gigantic wing span, and good lateral movement. No one else on the Dragons has the tools to match up with a player like Chandler.
Cottrill responded with the best game of his career at just the right time.
Drexel was getting little from their perimeter offense, but at least was able to do damage down low. Wright and Paris Kemp were able to double up on Ramsey, but they had trouble transitioning over to Duncan Sow when he went inside. Add Cottrill to the mix and suddenly the Dragons started putting a dent into Seton Hall's lead. It was a lot of grind-it-out work, but Drexel was able to reduce the lead all the way 1 on a Gilbert McLaughlin put back as time expired.
But Coach West had problems. He was getting no production from his back court, and surely the Pirates could clamp down in the middle even harder. Despite the Dragons taking their first lead in a long time on the first shot of the 2nd half, Seton Hall quickly struck back and built up a 8 point lead. Forget Drexel's perfect season, the Big East Champs were swiping away the Dragon's title shot.
The Dragons made a few more adjustments, including switching to a 3-2 to fight the perimeter and Coach West telling his team to push the ball down the court every time they could. Seton Hall continued to hold defenders back to stop the break, but Drexel finally slowed down the Pirates' shooting after allowing 50% three point shooting in the first half. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to allow Drexel to mount one final charge at the Pirates.
Where Femi Ramsey was constantly contested, Tracey Cottrill picked up the team and put it on his shoulders. He attacked off the dribble. He made clean passes when available. He got to the line often and hit every single one of his free throws. Soon the Pirate defense had to account for the Cottrill, and that freed up Ramsey enough to start doing damage.
As the score grew closer, the crowd awoke. No no one was going to pull this game out until the end, and for around the last 8 minutes of the second half, all the fans in attendance were on their feet willing their team to win.
With three minutes to go, Drexel found themselves once again down by one. McCarthy had the ball at the top of the key, and as had been the case for most of the second half, the Pirates applied no pressure to him. McCarthy waited as his teammates moved into position to try and create space, but still no defenders came. The bucket was never going to be bigger. The defense would never be looser. McCarthy hoisted a wide open three with no one around for the lead.
Clang.
But the ball went straight into Ramsey's hands. The big man pump faked then put back the shot, drew a foul, and converted the free throw. Drexel's lead was two. Then four. Then five. Suddenly it was Seton Hall who was in danger of finding a way to lose a game they had dominated.
McCarthy had the ball at the top of the key again, this time with the Pirates in man-to-man. During the time out, West set out two priorities, "Run the clock. No stupid plays." McCarthy let the clock wind down, but after a screen found Aaron Wright on top of him. That meant the far smaller M.C. Stokes was following Ramsey on the roll. The ideal match up. But before McCarthy could pass, Wright stepped forward and swiped the ball from the Senior Point Guard.
Drexel's only second half turnover could not come at a worse time. Wright went barreling down the court with only McCarthy nearby. But McCarthy could not foul before Wright went up for a thunderous two handed slam -- and unfortunately for the Dragons McCarthy's foul was too weak to change Wright's trajectory. Maybe it was better than drawing a flagrant foul with less than a minute left in the game, but Wright deftly hit the free throw to cut Drexel's lead to two.
The Dragons could not afford another empty possession. Coach West took a time out and drew up a play to free up Ramsey inside or Morandais on the wing. Once again Seton Hall came out in man-to-man, and Ramsey was blanketed inside. An entry pass was not safe. However, Moradais was able to run through a screen and free up space with 30 seconds left. McCarthy made the smart pass, and Morandais rose up to make it a two possession game.
Clang!
Once again Drexel's dominance on the boards would be rewarded. Tracey Cottrill came down with the offensive rebound near the basket -- but then the Sophomore got caught up in the moment. All he had to do was kick out the ball, or even hold onto it to force a foul. Instead, he went back up with an ill advised put back Kemp and Loren Pope nearby. Kemp was credited with the block, but in truth the shot would have never gotten past either of them.
Down two with time enough for one more possession, Seton Hall spent their last time out. It's hard to say what happened in either team's huddles because the Metrodome was so loud, but don't blame the audience. Look at the situation. Final Four. Down by two. Possession at the end of the game. It's the stuff kids dream up in driveways and school yards all across the country.
M.C. Stokes brought up the ball, and Drexel came out in Man-to-Man. The clock ran slowly down, but the battle tested Pirates were not rattled. They made a living all year in the Big East coming from behind and grabbing victory from the jaws of defeat. They just needed one more spark. Drexel stayed in position, with Morandais staying tight on Stokes. As the clock was winding down, Josh Payton chased Simon Christie from the corner through the paint. But at just the right time, Paris Kemp stepped forward and made probably the most important screen of his life. It was clean, and it knocked Payton off his feet.
Christie was by himself on the elbow. Beyond the three point line. Coach Willard has always been one to go for the win instead of tie when it is available, and the winning shot was right here. Christie rose up, as he had so many times before during his four years at South Orange, NJ, to fire the shot that would launch Seton Hall to victory. Into the Championship game.
CLANG!
The ball flew off the rim and landed in the mighty paws of Drexel's Duncan Sow. As he landed, he was fouled with only 3.2 seconds remaining. For some reason, it all seemed like deja-vu for the Dragons as Sow walked across the court to the foul line. Once again, his teammates encouraged him but kept their distance. Once again, it was on Sow to be the difference between elimination and preserving a win. The crowd was roaring. The nation watched as the 2014 Freshman All-American went to the line.
Swish.
The first shot didn't even graze the rim. The contingent from Philadelphia roared in approval. Now a three from Seton Hall could only tie. The Pirates knew they still had a shot at overtime, but would have to be prepared to move quickly whether Sow made the shot or intentionally missed it. With an expressionless look on his face, Sow rose up for his second free throw.
Silence.
So little net that the fabric hardly moved. Seton Hall swarmed to throw in a desperation in-bounds play, but it was too late. The Pirates last second three missed wide, and the ball was not recovered until time expired. Drexel had spent most of the game on the losing end of the scoreboard. But on the back of 24 points off the bench from Tracey Cottrill and 27 combined rebounds from Duncan Sow and Femi Ramsey, the Dragons earned a trip to the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Game by a final margin of 76-72.
Seton Hall Pirates at Drexel Dragons | |||
Mar 31, 2015 | 1ST | 2ND | SCORE |
#4 Seton Hall (27-9) | 41 | 31 | 72 |
#1 Drexel (36-0) | 40 | 36 | 76 |
Seton Hall Pirates (RPI: 12 OVR: 87) | |||||||||||
STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | |
M. Stokes | 27 | 2-7 | 0-2 | 5-6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
S. Christie | 26 | 2-11 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
L. Chandler | 22 | 8-11 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 | |
A. Wright | 26 | 8-12 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | |
P. Kemp | 22 | 6-14 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | |
BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | |
L. Pope | 10 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
L. Boticki | 11 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
I. Allison | 7 | 2-6 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
G. Copeland | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
A. Deane | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
S. Darden | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
C. Kelley | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
TEAM TOTALS | 29-63 | 4-12 | 10-12 | 27 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 72 |
Drexel Dragons (RPI: 1 OVR: 83) | |||||||||||
STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | |
P. McCarthy | 23 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
J. Payton | 22 | 1-5 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
D. Richard | 11 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
D. Sow | 22 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | |
F. Ramsey | 25 | 10-22 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | |
BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | |
T. Cottrill | 22 | 8-13 | 0-1 | 8-8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | |
W. Morandais | 12 | 1-5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
D. Marsh | 6 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
G. McLaughlin | 7 | 4-6 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
J. Vassallo | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
D. Wilson | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
R. Burnette | -- DID NOT PLAY -- | ||||||||||
TEAM TOTALS | 31-71 | 0-8 | 14-17 | 40 | 21 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 76 |
Coach's Take: I have to credit our guys for facing adversity and pulling through. We may not have hit our shots like we wanted, and Seton Hall was very close to making us pay for it. They played a helluva game and deserve a lot of credit. But we executed at other phases of the game. We got a lot more rebounds. We created a number of second chance opportunities. We cut down on the turnovers. We took care of business at the free-throw line. Seton Hall gave it their all and can be very proud of their performance. But our team showed great character by coming back twice in this game to pull out the victory. And now we have one more game to go.
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