In a season-opening dogfight, Drexel falls short in its Big 5 men’s hoops debut against La Salle

Drexel waited decades to be in the Big 5. But it will have to wait a bit longer for its first Big 5 win after falling to La Salle, 67-61, inside Tom Gola Arena in what was the season opener for both teams.

A back-and-forth contest was decided in the final minutes thanks to some heroics by La Salle guard Jahmir Brickus.

Brickus finished with a game-high 18 points, and Anwar Gill (15 points), Khalil Brantley (13), and Rokas Jocius (10) joined him as Explorer scorers in double figures. Jocius added nine rebounds and three blocks, and Gill had four assists.

Amari Williams, who entered as the Preseason Player of the Year in the Coastal Athletic Association, led Drexel with 16 points, followed by sophomore guard Justin Moore, who had 15 points and five assists. Lamar Oden Jr. finished with seven rebounds.

For 38 minutes, neither team could separate itself. The entire night, the game was within two possessions, the largest lead on either side being the six-point advantage with which La Salle finished.

The final four minutes were dominated by Brickus, who scored nine straight points for La Salle. Drexel had some good looks late but failed to convert.

“It’s a great game, whether this is the first Big 5 game or it’s just Drexel and La Salle, it’s a great rivalry game,” Drexel coach Zach Spiker said. “Credit to them. Thought it was a really, really tightly contested game.”

Both teams showed their depth to start the season, with nine Dragons and seven Explorers scoring. The Explorers shot 6-for-15 from three and made 43.9% of their field goals, while Drexel was just 4-for-17 from deep and shot 41.4% from the field.

“It’s a great test, and they got us here last year. We lost in overtime last year,” La Salle coach Fran Dunphy said. “We talked about it as a group. It’s just a really good win. Anytime you play city games, they’re great. And the fact that we came out on the winning side tonight, it’s a really good win for us.”

With the game tied, 56-56, and four minutes remaining, Gill dribbled up the court, pitched it back to Brickus who stopped a few feet behind the arc, pulled up and buried a three.

A few possessions later, with Drexel up one, Brickus finished a tough layup to give La Salle the lead with under three minutes to go. Then, after a stop by La Salle, Brickus attacked the basket again, where he was fouled and made both free throws.

With less than 30 seconds left, Brickus made two free throws to put La Salle up by five, and the Dragons never got within one possession again.

“I really just let it come to me, that’s really my game,” Brickus said. “I don’t rush anything. I don’t force anything. I just let it come to me, so once the game came to me I stepped up and made shots.”

Sandwiching two Big 5 matchups for Drexel is a trip to South Carolina on Saturday (5:30 p.m., ESPN+) to take on Winthrop, which is coming off a 22-point loss to Clemson in its season opener. The Dragons then return to Big 5 play in a game against Temple at home on Nov. 14.

For La Salle, its next three games are all inside Tom Gola Arena, beginning with Northeastern on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN+). The Explorers’ next Big 5 clash won’t arrive until the end of the month when they head out on the road to face Temple on Nov. 29 (7 p.m., ESPN+).