There is something about this team.
Maybe it's Drexel's three-point and free-throw percentages that led the Colonial Athletic Association heading into Tuesday's games. Perhaps, it's Samme Givens' presence on the block. Or maybe it is the Dragons' trademark stingy defense.
Whatever it is, Drexel can't seem to lose.
With Tuesday's 63-61 CAA win over William & Mary at the Daskalakis Center, the Dragons extended their winning streak to 14 games.
Kentucky (17 games) and Texas-Arlington (15) are the only NCAA Division I teams with longer active winning streaks. And the Dragons (22-5, 14-2 CAA) are a victory shy of tying its school-record, Division I winning streak that was set in 1996.
William & Mary (5-23, 3-12), on the other hand, suffered its 10th loss in 11 games.
But unlike most of their victories, the Dragons looked beatable against an inferior opponent. There were times when it seemed Drexel would go on a run, but the Tribe would hit a timely three-pointer or layup to keep things close.
The Dragons clung to a 51-50 lead after a layup by William & Mary's Marcus Thornton with 5 minutes, 18 seconds remaining.
Then Tim Rusthoven's putback with less than four minutes to play gave the Tribe a 52-51 lead.
But Drexel's Frantz Massenat gave the Dragons the lift they needed. The sophomore guard's three-point play with 2:17 gave left put Drexel back ahead, 54-52.
After the Tribe turned the ball over, Massenat scored another to put the Dragons up by four. Then he hit both ends of a one-on-one to give Drexel a 58-52 lead with 43 seconds left.
William & Mary closed the gap to 60-58 with 13 seconds remaining. And after a Tribe three-pointer made it 62-61 with two seconds left, Massenat made a foul shot to finish the scoring. The Tribe had one last chance, but couldn't get a shot off.
Massenat finished with game highs of 22 points and eight assists. Guard Derrick Thomas added 16 points.
The Dragons looked out of sync in the beginning, missing their first four shots.
But being streaky, Drexel then hit its next five field goals to take a 13-6 lead 13:47 before intermission.
Then Massenat's three-point play with 7:44 left in the half extended the Dragons' cushion to 10 points (19-9).
Shortly after, it appeared that Drexel had the game in hand. Especially considering that William & Mary was unable to stop Derrick Thomas. He scored 13 of the Dragons' 24 points as they had a nine-point cushion with less than six minutes remaining in the half.
But the Tribe pulled within four points (24-20) on Kendrix Brown's foul shots.
Drexel outscored the William & Mary, 7-5, the rest of the half to take a 31-25 lead.
But the Tribe continued to keep things competitive.
Chris Fouch started in place of freshman guard Damion Lee, who suffered an ankle injury in Saturday's game against Hofstra.
Contact staff writer Keith Pompey at 215-854-2939 or kpompey@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/pompeysgridlock, and read his blog at www.philly.com/OwlsInq
