Williams’ dunk with 2 seconds left gives Drexel an improbable 80-79 win over the College of Charleston

Amari Williams was the hero for Drexel.

With 2 seconds to play, Williams threw down an emphatic two-handed dunk to put the Dragons up one point, securing an 80-79 victory over the College of Charleston late Saturday afternoon at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

“[The team] thought [Charleston] was going to give us a [missed free throw] and our strategy was to drive the ball and find open shooters,” said Camren Wynter. “Luckily, Amari slipped to the rim and he was wide open.”

It was the first lead of the game for the Dragons (15-13, 10-8 CAA). Although the Cougars (16-13, 8-9) had three scorers in double digits, they were unable to protect the lead they held for all but 2 seconds.

Dimitrius Underwood led Charleston with 23 points.

Wynter and Xavier Bell each had 18 points for Drexel.

In the first half, Drexel didn’t make a single three-pointer, missing all five attempts.

The scoring came mostly from the Dragons putting the ball on the floor and driving to the hoop. Drexel also made only three of its first seven free-throw attempts.

The Dragons didn’t play poorly offensively in the first half –– they shot a respectable 48% from the field –– but they couldn’t take advantage of a near three-minute scoring drought or seven first-half turnovers by the Cougars.

Wynter had 12 points in just 14 first-half minutes.

Charleston led, 42-31, at the half.

Heading into Saturday, Charleston led the conference in scoring at 78.2 points per contest. Its offensive efficiency was on full display early in the game.

The Dragons occasionally applied a full-court press and played only man-to-man half-court defense, but they had no answer for Charleston’s scoring weapons in the first half.

“Every position, my goodness, it’s like Noah’s Ark,” said Drexel head coach Zach Spiker. “[Charleston] has two of every position –– just big, long, athletic guys that get to the rim. Every time [Charleston] shoots a three, your heart is in your throat that [the shot] is going to go in.”

In the second half, though, the Dragons were able to settle down on defense, allowing only 37 Charleston points.

The same offensive woes that stymied the Dragons returned early in the second half. Drexel made just three of its first 13 field goal attempts to open the final 20 minutes. Two of those field goals were three-pointers, breaking the three-pointer drought. The Charleston lead grew to 14 during the scoring drought.

But the lead would shrink, momentarily, from there. The Dragons went on a 7-0 run with 12 minutes left in the game to cut their deficit to seven.

“I think there were a couple of times where we folded up, but I think [the victory] speaks to the resiliency of our team,” said Coletrane Washington.

Later in the second half, a 10-0 run by Drexel with five minutes to play cut the Charleston lead to just one.

“Each timeout, we talked about winning the next four-minute segment,” added Matey Juric.

Then, after a missed free throw by Charleston with 13 seconds to play, Wynter drove the ball down the floor and found Williams, who dribbled once, spun, and had a wide-open slam. Ballgame.

Saturday was the final regular-season game for the Dragons. Before the game, Wynter, Juric, James Butler, Washington, and Maleik Marin were honored.

“I just couldn’t be happier for each of [the seniors] individually,” said Spiker. “I am incredibly proud of them.”

In Thursday’s loss against UNC-Wilmington, Butler became just the fourth player in Drexel history to record both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

The starting five on Saturday afternoon were the five seniors, a slight modification of the usual rotation.

Drexel will be the fifth seed in the conference tournament that begins Saturday in Washington, D.C. at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.