RU Opens Legends Classic by Hosting Drexel Friday Evening
Nov 18 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers men's basketball team looks to improve to a perfect 2-0 when its hosts Drexel Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the first of two regional round games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center as part of the 2009 Legends Classic. The Scarlet Knights will also host Vermont at the RAC on Sunday at 4:00 p.m., before playing two championship round games in Atlantic City over Thanksgiving weekend in the Classic.
At the second media timeout of the first half of Sunday's game versus the Catamounts, Phil Sellers - two-time RU All-American and all-time leading scorer and rebounder - will be recognized as the Rutgers' "Legend of the Game" in conjunction with the Classic. One of three RU men's basketball players (Bob Lloyd, James Bailey) to have his jersey retired (#12), Sellers scored 2,399 career points and led the Scarlet Knights to the 1976 Final Four.
Friday's game will be streamed live on the web via KnightVision Broadband at www.scarletknights.com with Danny Breslauer and Adam Helfgott calling the action. On the radio, the contest will be broadcast live on the Rutgers Radio Network, WOR 710 AM in New York City and WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Dick Lloyd will provide commentary. WRSU 88.7 FM will also broadcast the game.
Friday's contest will mark the 14th meeting between Rutgers and Drexel on the hardwood with the Scarlet Knights holding a 12-1 advantage. RU won the initial 12 match-ups, before the Dragons captured a 76-64 win in the last meeting on Jan. 11, 1994 at the RAC. Twelve of the 13 games in the series have taken place at Rutgers.
Rutgers (1-0) is coming off a 74-67 home win over Marist this past Saturday. Gregory Echenique (Guatire, Venezuela) had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Mike Rosario (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 17 points. Patrick Jackson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 15 points for the Scarlet Knights, who dished out 19 assists, tying for the most helpers in a game under head coach Fred Hill. Junior guard Mike Coburn (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and senior center Hamady Ndiaye (Dakar, Senegal) also had productive afternoons for the home squad. Coburn posted a career-high seven assists, while Ndiaye registered six blocked shots. Ndiaye, who ranks fourth nationally in career blocks, increased his career total in rejections to 219.
Drexel (0-2), under the leadership of ninth-year head coach James "Bruiser" Flint, is coming off an early-morning, 76-69, loss at Niagara on Tuesday in a game that tipped-off at 8:00 a.m. as part of ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon. The Dragons trailed by as many as 15 points, but trimmed their deficit to just three points with under a minute to play. Junior guard Gerald Colds scored 18 points in the loss. The defeat came on the heels of a hard-fought, 77-67, overtime loss at city rival Saint Joseph's four days prior. GAME NOTES
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