You know things are going well when at one stoppage late in the game a ref stops to ask fans how many three pointers a player has made.  Rachel Pearson was on fire for the Dragons, hitting a program record-tying eight shots from deep.  She was close on a bunch more.  In all, the senior guard poured in a career high twenty-eight points as Drexel handled College of Charleston in their league opener.

Drexel's women's team will take on cross-street rival Penn in an away game on Saturday afternoon before the men's team takes on Penn State at the nation's most overrated arena Saturday evening.  The Drexel men, fresh off a loss against #25 South Carolina will have their hands full with a 7-3 PSU team that has notched a couple of good wins on the young season.  Drexel's women's team, which has struggled from the floor for several games in a row, faces a test in the 5-2 Quakers.

What a difference forty minutes can make.  Both Drexel teams impressed on Saturday afternoon to end their losing streaks.  The men went into Gola Arena for the first time in several decades and beat La Salle for the first time in almost ever.  The Dragons led for most of the game and looked downright impressive at times.  Finally.  On the women's side, Drexel took advantage of a softer matchup against Hampton and ran away with their first road victory of the year.

​Philadelphia sports fans are nothing if not eternally optimistic.  This calendar year has tested that optimism to the tune of one of the worst overall collective years, record-wise, in sports history.  The Sixers? Well, things are finally looking up after snapping a 28 game losing streak and tying the record for worst start in NBA history.  Oh and let's not forget the team's 2015 first round pick can't seem to stop hitting Boston sports fans (but really, who could blame him?).  The Flyers? Not so good.  The Phillies? The worst record in MLB, but at least things are looking up with a solid young core, the first overall pick in the draft, and the very best news: Ruben Amaro, Jr. is now the problem of the Red Sox.

As we outlined last week, things haven't been much better for our beloved Dragons.  After an injury-plagued season they're off to an 0-6 start this year and their top player is currently starring in nationally televised games for another team (still love you, Damion).  But let's forget about all that, because the Dragons are back in action on Saturday afternoon with a chance to change it all starting with one game: a big City 6 match-up against La Salle at Tom Gola Arena.  As an aside, and something I've alluded to before, but Drexel catches a lot of crap for the quality of the arena they play in.  The DAC is, without a doubt, a much finer facility than Gola and even includes a dedicated parking garage that isn't a strip mall parking lot.  Gola also holds the distinction as the only gym that had security warn the DAC Pack (remember them?) for not cheering for the home team.  Seriously, it happened.

Drexel travels to North Philly to take on the Explorers for the first time in fifteen years, a place where La Salle has been extremely difficult to beat in recent years.  La Salle is led by Auburn transfer Jordan Price who is averaging 27.0 points per game, which is good for second overall in the country.  For reference, Damion Lee is currently 84th overall (did we mention we miss you, Damion?).  Like a bunch of the teams they've faced so far this season, the Explorers are led offensively almost exclusively by their backcourt.  In addition to the 6'5" Price, the 6'6" Cleon Roberts averages 13.2 ppg, and 5'11" guard Johnnie Shuler chips in 11.0 ppg.

La Salle shoots well overall as a team (46.5% from the year, 36.1% from deep, and 76.8% from the line).  They have already played a couple of games against fellow CAA members Towson and Hofstra.  The Explorers beat Towson (#7 in the preseason poll) in their opener and dropped a close one to the Pride (#1 in the preseason poll) earlier this week.  La Salle has also won games over reigning Patriot League champ Lafayette, Rider, and against D3 powerhouse (just kidding) Rowan.  In their lone D1 away game they were run out of the Palestra against Penn.

If you can't make it out to the game, La Salle has free live video of the game through their site.

If you didn't follow the Dragons' Thanksgiving break trek to the tundra, and for your sake let's hope that's the case, the men's basketball team sputtered to a last place finish at the Great Alaskan Shootout in Anchorage.  That's eighth out of a total of eight teams that included the likes of an only-decent (and not even top-25 ranked) Division II school in host Alaska-Anchorage, a previously winless San Diego team, and a UNC-Asheville team that had just a single win on the season.  All of those teams knocked off Drexel over the course of the three day tournament.

​Some early season trends continued on Saturday at the DAC.  The men struggled to pull out what was another close game while the women were solid in another WNIT home victory.  The preseason CAA predictions appear to be holding true for both teams as far as out of conference play is concerned.  The women's team was predicted to finish second and they're off to a 2-1 start with their loss coming in a tight contest against #19 South Florida.  The guys, picked eighth, are now 0-3 against a handful a tough but beatable teams in St. Joes, High Point, and Monmouth.

​Saturday afternoon will often Drexel fans the rare opportunity to watch both basketball teams in action in back-to-back games.  The men continue their strong out-of-conference schedule when they take on Monmouth at 2pm.  The women will return to the DAC to take on St. Bonaventure in their third and final game of the WNIT.  Their game will begin at 5pm or 45 minutes after the men's game, whichever is later.

​Two games into the season and the updated defensive foul rules are already playing a large role in the outcome of Drexel's games.  For a second straight night, Drexel's top big man Rodney Williams was plagued by foul trouble and saw a limited amount of action (19 minutes).  The Dragons had a poor showing from the free throw line (14 of 28) and committed nearly double the turnovers they were able to create on the defensive end (17 vs. 9).  There was one bright spot for the Dragons: senior guard Tavon Allen was on fire for much of the night, hitting the first six of his three point attempts en route to twenty-one points off the bench.

​After a hard fought one point loss on opening night against St. Joes, the men's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the DAC for their home opener on Wednesday evening.  Drexel will be looking for its first victory of the year when it takes on reigning Big South Conference champion High Point, who is fresh off a twenty-four point victory against N.C. Wesleyan, a Division III school.  In its only D-I game of the year, High Point dropped a four point decision at Texas Tech.