Georgia State

GEORGIA STATE is leaving the Colonial Athletic Association for the Sun Belt Conference, school officials announced Monday. The school will begin playing a conference schedule for the 2013-14 academic year. Villanova and Delaware are in the CAA for football; Drexel and Delaware play CAA basketball. Georgia State has been a CAA member since 2005, although it did not have an active football program until 2010. The team will join CAA football for 2012, in what will turn out to be its only season.

Georgia State came into its game with Drexel as one of the top-ranked defensive teams in the Colonial Athletic Association, but Jamie Harris quickly made a mockery of that. Penetrating at will, Harris had 21 points by halftime, and the junior guard from New York City made sure that Drexel wouldn't start CAA play with two road losses. Bouncing back from Saturday's disappointing performance at Delaware, the Dragons built a 20-point lead late in the first half and defeated the Panthers, 72-57, last night at the GSU Sports Arena.

Drexel coach Bill Herrion sees a pattern developing, and he doesn't like it. "I'm frustrated in our season," said the Dragons' first-year coach, after being thrashed by Georgia State, 75-59, last night in the first game of the Mount St. Mary's Holiday Tournament. Drexel will play Maryland-Eastern Shore tonight in the consolation game. Mount St. Mary's beat Maryland-Eastern Shore, 88-69, in the second game. As has been the case nearly all season, Drexel (1-6) played a close first half, only to be blown out by a run in the second half.

Georgia State coach Rod Barnes took a look at the statistics after his team's 64-47 loss to Drexel last night and locked in on the rebounding category. The Dragons had outrebounded his team by 21 in the Colonial Athletic Association game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. "We got 24 rebounds, and they got 25 offensive rebounds," Barnes said as he shook his head. "That's basically the case in point. Obviously, you're not competing in some kind of way. " Drexel, which took the floor as the hottest team in the CAA, claimed its sixth consecutive win and improved to 11-8 overall, 7-3 in the league.

Just when it looked as if Drexel had found its hot hand, Georgia State found one of its own. Tramayne Hawthorne's second-half shooting display helped give the Dragons a seven-point lead, but Leonard Mendez answered with 10 straight for the Panthers to give them a lead they never gave up in a 64-58 win last night. Drexel (9-13, 2-8 Colonial Athletic Association) trailed for most of the first half, but charged back early in the second on the shoulders of Hawthorne, who came out of the half with only two points but hit four three-pointers early to spark the Dragons to a 15-3 run. That stretch put Drexel up, 49-42, with less than 10 minutes on the clock, and the Panthers knew they had to do something different.

A pair of scoring-challenged teams met last night in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Host Drexel, which had dropped seven of nine games in which it put fewer than 60 points on the scoreboard, used perhaps its most impressive rally of the season to gain control in the second half. But the Dragons still had to withstand a late run by Georgia State to claim a 58-51 victory. The teams totaled 43 points during the first 20 minutes. The Panthers were down by five at halftime.

If you come to the DAC expecting to see aesthetically pleasing basketball, you have come to the wrong place. Drexel, under Bruiser Flint, is about defense first, last and always. Still, a few hoops never hurt anybody. Drexel and Georgia State needed a late first-half run to avoid setting a record for the fewest points in a half since 1986, the advent of the shot clock. The three-point shot came the next year. They got to 31 very late, three more than the "record" set 8 years ago by Mississippi 15-South Carolina 13 at the half.

Who: Drexel (6-8, 1-1 CAA) at Georgia State (8-6, 2-0) When: 7 o'clock Where: Sports Arena, Atlanta TV: None Radio: WNTP (990-AM) Notes: This is the second of three games in 5 days for Drexel. The Dragons lost to Delaware on Saturday and host Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday . . . Georgia State is 5-0 at home this season, and has won eight straight at home. Senior Trey Hampton has scored 68 points and is 21-for-25 from the field over the last three games.

VILLANOVA, WHICH has just about everything back from the young team that struggled to a 2-9 record in 2011, once again will open its season against Temple in the fourth annual (and last scheduled) Mayor's Cup meeting at Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 31. The Wildcats will play their home opener a week later against Fordham, and their first Colonial Athletic Association game on Sept. 15 against Rhode Island. Richmond (Oct. 6), Towson (Oct. 27) and James Madison (Nov. 10)

Georgia State is leaving the Colonial Athletic Association for the Sun Belt Conference, school officials announced Monday. The school will begin playing a conference schedule for the 2013-14 academic year. Villanova and Delaware are in the CAA for football; Drexel and Delaware play CAA basketball. Georgia State has been a CAA member since 2005, although it did not have an active football program until 2010. The team will join CAA football for 2012, in what will turn out to be its only season.

Drexel will be facing a formidable task when the Dragons meet two-time defending Colonial Athletic Association Tournament champion Old Dominion in Sunday's 2 p.m. semifinal at the Richmond Coliseum in Virginia. Fourth-seeded ODU (20-12) advanced with an 88-74 quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded Delaware, which entered the tournament with a nine-game winning streak. Leading, 47-42, at halftime, ODU began the second half on a 13-4 run to take control. Kent Bazemore had 24 points to lead the Monarchs.

VILLANOVA, WHICH has just about everything back from the young team that struggled to a 2-9 record in 2011, once again will open its season against Temple in the fourth annual (and last scheduled) Mayor's Cup meeting at Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 31. The Wildcats will play their home opener a week later against Fordham, and their first Colonial Athletic Association game on Sept. 15 against Rhode Island. Richmond (Oct. 6), Towson (Oct. 27) and James Madison (Nov. 10)

1. Missing ingredient While his strong nucleus of guards gets all the attention, La Salle coach John Giannini is touting the improved play of his freshmen big men, Jerrell Wright and Steve Zack. "We think we have a potentially great starting forward/center combination moving ahead into future years," Giannini said. "It's hard for big young guys to make the adjustment [from high school]. They're just going to keep getting better. This is a missing ingredient for us being a high-level team, but I don't think it will be missing for long.

It is a scary combination for opponents. A balanced team with weapons inside and out, Drexel can beat you in many ways on offense. And, defensively, the lock-down Dragons boast not just the stingiest unit in the Colonial Athletic Association but one of the best defenses in the country. Drexel put it all on display on Wednesday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, impressively brushing aside Georgia State, 68-46, to win its eighth straight game and 12th in a row at home, including all nine this season.

HALL OF FAME coach Red Auerbach used to light a victory cigar whenever he was certain his Boston Celtics were too far ahead to be caught. If his body language during last night's 60-27 blowout loss to Drexel is any indication, first-year Towson coach Pat Skerry performed what might be viewed as the opposite of Auerbach's stogie celebrations. When it became apparent to him, early in the second half, that his Tigers would not stage a miraculous comeback against the Dragons, the previously animated Skerry sat down in his folding chair and seemingly accepted the inevitable.

If you come to the DAC expecting to see aesthetically pleasing basketball, you have come to the wrong place. Drexel, under Bruiser Flint, is about defense first, last and always. Still, a few hoops never hurt anybody. Drexel and Georgia State needed a late first-half run to avoid setting a record for the fewest points in a half since 1986, the advent of the shot clock. The three-point shot came the next year. They got to 31 very late, three more than the "record" set 8 years ago by Mississippi 15-South Carolina 13 at the half.

Archbishop Carroll graduate Hollie Mershon scored a career-high 18 points off the bench to spark Drexel in a 56-46 Colonial Athletic Association win over Georgia State (5-8) on Thursday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons improved to 9-4. Kamile Nacickaite added 12 points and Renee Johnson-Allen turned in career highs with five assists and five rebounds. Drexel began its rally with 9 minutes, 45 seconds remaining. A 22-6 run was fueled largely by reserves. Philadelphia U. 82, Georgian Court 52 - Kate Brennan collected 20 points and seven rebounds for the Rams in a rout of winless Georgian Court that opened a home doubleheader with the men's team.