This night belonged to Givens, a 6-foot-5 senior from the Academy of the New Church. He delighted his mother, father, grandfather, and the rest of the sellout crowd on one second-half possession by pulling down two offensive rebounds, the second one being chalked up as No. 1,000.
"It felt great," Givens said. "I got my whole family here. I'm a Philly kid. I'm on a list with a lot of good people. So I'm just appreciative to be on that list, especially at my height and my size and playing the position that I play."
Giving credit to Drexel coach Bruiser Flint, Givens added, "It also is a testament to him because he puts me in the right position and the right places to get buckets and get rebounds."
Flint called Givens "one of our best players here, and one of the best players in my career."
Only Malik Rose and Bob Stephens reached 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds at Drexel before Givens. He is the 22d player to reach that milestone among City Six players, with Temple's Lavoy Allen being the most recent before Wednesday night.
Drexel was burned early by the three-point shooting of the Dukes (11-19, 4-13), whose head coach, former St. Joseph's assistant Matt Brady, watched from the far end of the bench with a torn right Achilles tendon suffered last Thursday when he filled in at a shorthanded practice.
James Madison sank seven threes in 11 attempts in taking a 35-34 halftime lead. But the Dragons limited the visitors' looks from beyond the arc in the second half and took control of the game with an 11-1 run in the opening 51/2 minutes.
In their 11th season in the CAA, the Dragons captured their first regular-season title. While they have clinched at least an NIT berth by winning their conference, the Dragons are looking for bigger rewards like an NCAA bid. But they have to keep winning.
Contact staff writer Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494, jjuliano@phillynews.com or @joejulesinq on Twitter.
