Despite two early triples from William & Mary to open the second half, Ruffin opened and closed the scoring for Drexel in the half to help carry the Dragons (15-5, 7-2 CAA) to the victory. Less than 4 minutes into the second, Ruffin hit a pair from the line and a quick layup to push the Dragons to a 34-27 advantage.
Frantz Massenat's three-pointer with 15:44 to go extended Drexel to a 10-point advantage, and Lee followed with buckets to extend the lead to 41-27. A Lee three-pointer at 12:39 boosted the lead to 17. William & Mary (4-17, 2-7 CAA) tried to threaten, but never got closer than 15. Ruffin went 3-for-3 from the floor in the final 2 minutes and the Dragons picked up their 13th victory in 14 games.
Daryl McCoy opened the contest with a layup and one for the Dragons. But back-to-back buckets from Tribe sophomore forward Tim Rusthoven and freshman forward Marcus Thornton put William & Mary at a 4-3 advantage.
Lee netted two for the Dragons before Thornton hit a triple from the left side, giving the Tribe a 7-5 lead. The Dragons closed the gap and gained a 10-9 edge after Lee netted his own three-point bucket from the left side and guard Derrick Thomas hit a jumper.
Rusthoven and Matt Rum added a layup each for the Tribe, and Ruffin and Kazembe Abif contributed a pair apiece for Drexel. Ruffin went 4-of-4 in two trips to the line, and Lee netted a layup and three-point shot to spark the Dragons' surge. Massenat's buzzer-beating triple sent Drexel into the locker room with a 30-21 edge.
On the night, Drexel finished the game shooting at 50 percent, including 6-for-142 from three-point range, and shot 10-for-12 from the line. Senior forward Samme Givens picked up eight rebounds to move to 10th in CAA career rebounds.
Drexel will host Georgia State tomorrow night.
