Drexel HC Zach Spiker reflects on end of season, veteran group

WASHINGTON D.C. – Drexel head coach Zach Spiker sat inside the press room at CareFirst Arena for a good minute after speaking with the media with his head in his hand.

The Dragons season had come to a close, following a 65-57 loss to Monmouth in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament. The finality of the season was setting in for the visibly distraught Spiker. His Dragons had played their last game together. This particular group’s time was coming to an end. Seniors will graduate and move on to their next endeavor. The transfer portal brings uncertainty about those who have eligibility left. The abrupt and cold reality of a season’s end started to come on.

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“When you have your final game, it always comes a bit earlier than you plan for,” said Spiker, sitting beside seniors Garfield Turner and Shane Blakeney.

It was a pair of long scoring droughts, and a tough afternoon on the offensive end outside of the opening minutes that closed the 10th season of the Spiker era.

Drexel made five of their first six threes out of the gate, and at one point had an 11-point advantage in the latter portion of the first half. The Dragons would go on to make just four of their next 16 triples for the rest of the afternoon.

There was a scoring drought of over six and a half minutes that allowed Monmouth to take their first lead at the end of the opening half.

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Then in the second half, Drexel went over nine minutes without a field goal. A Garfield Turner turnaround shot in the paint at the 10:31 mark put Drexel up 48-43. Their next made basket came with just over a minute left, when Eli Beard drilled a transition three point shot from the right wing. The game was all but out of reach at that point, as Monmouth was on the cusp of being put into the double bonus as Drexel played the foul game.

Drexel ultimately finished the second half with eight turnovers and just seven made field goals. A combination of tough bounces, unfavorable rolls, and 15 turnovers against the…

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Publish date : 2026-03-10 03:46:00

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