Instant Replay: Arizona 66, Drexel 62

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BOX SCORE

NEW YORK -- After leading by as many as 19 points early on, the Drexel Dragons lost their grip and the game, 66-62, to No. 4 Arizona Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.

Drexel erupted to take a 27-8 lead with 6:52 left in the first half, but the Dragons lost their stranglehold as the first half waned, taking a nine-point lead into the break.

Arizona took its first lead of the game with 16:11 to play on a Brandon Ashley layup to give the Wildcats a 33-31 advantage and cap at 25-4 run.

The two teams traded leads for much of the second half. Drexel trailed by two with 5:56 left but went scoreless for the next three minutes.

First half
The Dragons began the game on a mind-bending run in which they shot 52.6 percent from the field and held the Wildcats to 18.8 percent shooting.

By halftime, however, the percentages had worked their ways back to the middle, but Drexel still held a decided advantage. The Dragons shot 36.4 percent in the first 20 minutes; the Wildcats shot 26.1 percent.

Chris Fouch scored 14 points in the first 14 minutes of the game on 5 of 9 shooting, including two extremely deep three-pointers, in his New York homecoming. He finished the half with 16 on 6 of 14 shooting.

The Dragons’ lead was aided by the team’s huge advantage in the turnover department. With four minutes left in the first half, the Dragons had yet to commit a turnover. The Wildcats had already committed nine. Drexel finished the half with just two giveaways.

The Wildcats scored 11 straight points in 6:20 near the end of the half to slice the deficit to single digits before trading buckets with the Dragons to end the half.

Inside the box score
• After shooting just 26.1 percent in the first half, Arizona shot 46.7 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.

• Arizona didn’t record a single assist in the first half, but recorded six in the second half.

Hot and cold
Drexel began the game shooting 10 for 20 from the field. They shot 16 of 51 the rest of the way.

The Dragons scored 24 points in the first 12 minutes of the game before being limited to just 38 in the final 28.

Lee injured
Drexel’s offensive firepower took a hit when junior guard Damion Lee left the game in the second half with a knee injury and will not play in Friday's consolation game.

Defense still reigns supreme
While it didn’t lead to victory, Bruiser Flint’s defense still showed its might at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night.

Arizona entered the game as the sixth-best shooting team in the country, averaging 54.4 percent from the field after five games.

Against Drexel’s defense, the Wildcats were stifled by Flint’s hallmark defense, shooting just 38 percent from the field.

Their previous worst was 44.6 percent in a 69-60 victory over San Diego State on Nov. 14.

What's next?
Arizona will face the winner of the other semifinal matchup between No. 6 Duke (5-0) and Alabama (3-1) in the championship Friday at 6 p.m. Drexel will face the loser of the Friday at 3:30 p.m.

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