Drexel beats James Madison 70-62 in CAA tournament opener

Mar 3, 2018, 11:33 pm

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Tramaine Isabell scored 12 of his 24 points in the last four minutes to help No. 8 seed Drexel beat ninth-seeded James Madison 70-62 in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament on Saturday.

Drexel (13-19), which had lost six of their last seven conference tournament games before beating the Dukes, will move on to face top-seeded Charleston (23-7) in a Sunday quarterfinal.

James Madison had a 55-54 lead with 4:20 to play. The Dragons closed on a 16-7 run, including an 8-0 stretch from Isabell. Ramone Snowden's 3-pointer pulled the Dukes to 64-60 before Isabell hit four straight free throws to make it 68-60 with 31 seconds left.

Sammy Mojica added 11 points and Austin Williams had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Drexel.

Matt Lewis made three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting for James Madison (10-22).