GREENSBORO – The Drexel Dragons made some clutch plays over the final two minutes of their 67-63 Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) win over the North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball team Thursday night at Corbett Sports Center, or otherwise the Aggies would have had a pretty impressive upset win over the top team in the Coastal Athletic Association. 

Drexel came into the game as a 14 ½ point favorite as the road team partly because of what looked like a significant rebounding advantage, with the Dragons averaging 41 rebounds per game compared to the Aggies' 30 rebounds per game. But the Aggies took care of the basketball, defended the perimeter well, and held one of the best rebounding teams in the country to only eight second-chance points. 

A&T trailed 57-48 with 8 ½ minutes to play in the game. But the Aggies outscored the Dragons 7-1 over the next 3 ½ minutes as freshman Uchenna Kellman-Nicholes's free throw cut Drexel's advantage to 58-55. After two Justin Moore free throws pushed Drexel's lead to five, another Aggie freshman, Jalal McKie, stepped just inside the 3-point arc and swished a jumper to put the Aggies down three before two Landon Glasper free throws made it a one-point game, 60-59, with 3:49 to play. 

"I thought it was a typical CAA game from what I'm used to from back in the day," said A&T head coach Monté Ross. "The game was nip-and-tuck, they're going to come down to the wire, they're going to come down to executing and making plays."

After a Drexel timeout, Drexel guard Luke House got to the rim quickly and scored on a layup. A&T point guard Camian Shell answered with a free throw to get the Aggies to within two, 62-60, with 3:17 to play. It would lead to two clutch plays that turned the game in Drexel's favor. With the shot clock running down, Jamie Bergens connected on a 3-pointer in front of the Drexel bench to give Drexel a 65-60 lead with 1:38 remaining. 

Glasper responded by putting the ball on the floor and scoring on a layup to get the Aggies back to within three. Moore followed with a drive to the basket that rolled off the rim. Drexel center Amari Williams was called for a loose ball foul as he and A&T center Jason Murphy battled for the rebound. Murphy connected on the first but missed the second. A&T sophomore forward Evan Joyner fouled Williams on the rebound attempt, sending the 52 percent shooter to the line for a one-and-one with 12.2 seconds remaining. 

Surprisingly, Williams hit both free throws to give the Dragons a 67-63 lead. The Aggies had two more scoring attempts, but Shell missed both jump shots as Drexel escaped Corbett, still undefeated in conference play at 4-0. Meanwhile, the Aggies dropped to 3-13 overall and 1-2 in conference play after playing a team that defeated Villanova earlier this season down the stretch. 

"The two biggest plays, in my opinion, because I thought our 3-point defense tonight was outstanding, but their kid hit a monster three, and then their big man goes to the free throw line, and he is not a great free throw shooter, but goes up there and makes two free throws during a one-and-one. But I love our guys' fight, and we will get to a point where we will finish. We will finish these games. I'll take the fight our guys showed tonight every night." 

Glasper led the Aggies with 21 points, marking the seventh time this season he has scored 20 points or more. McKie came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting. Shell also had 11, and Murphy ended the night with nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks. The Dragons did have a 50-26 advantage in points in the paint and out-rebounded the Aggies 44-30. Williams led Drexel with 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. 

"You don't want to lose the game in a game like this where you had an opportunity to win, but you didn't capitalize or threw the ball away," said Ross. "You want them to make plays to beat you, and I thought Drexel did that tonight." 

A&T has a big game against fellow HBCU Hampton at Hampton to commemorate the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday on Monday, January 15, at the Hampton Convocation Center. The tip is at 9 p.m.