National Basketball Association
Penn St. 73, Drexel 68
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 20, 2014
Where: PPL Center, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Officials:
# Paul Szelc, # Gerald Williams, # Terry Wymer
Attendance:
6081
By SportsDirect Inc.
Penn State 73, Drexel 68: D.J. Newbill had 20 points and four assists and the Nittany Lions withstood a late rally to knock off the Dragons in the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa.
Brandon Taylor had all 14 of his points and four 3-pointers in the first half and added 11 rebounds for Penn State (11-1), which won its ninth straight game and improved upon its best start since the 1995-96 team opened 13-0. Newbill, who entered as the Big Ten's leading scorer (21.9), shot 5-of-7 from the field and 9-of-12 from the line as Penn State shot 48.9 percent from the field and made all seven of its 3-pointers in the first half.
Damion Lee, who entered averaging 20.7 points with 26 3-pointers, was shut down by the Lions, scoring 13 points on 3-of-15 shooting as the Dragons were limited to 40 percent shooting. Tavon Allen had 15 points and three 3-pointers and freshman Sammy Mojica added 14 points for Drexel (2-8).
After Penn State used an 18-3 run highlighted by a dunk from 7-footer Jordan Dickerson trailing a fast break to take a 58-38 lead with 7:23 left, Drexel scored 15 straight to close within five. The Dragons got two shots from the arc from Allen and another 3-pointer from Freddie Wilson during the burst before Newbill hit two free throws and Donovon Jack followed two misses with hoops as the Lions held on.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 13-4 lead 6 1/2 minutes into the game after 3-pointers by Taylor, Newbill and Payton Banks. Drexel closed within 18-17 on a three-point play by Tyshawn Myles before Newbill drained two jumpers and Taylor and Shep Garner knocked down shots from the arc to rebuild a nine-point lead, and the Lions led 36-28 at the half.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Taylor notched the first double-double of his three-year career. … Lee was 2-of-12 from the arc with the second hoop coming in the final 30 seconds. …The Nittany Lions play Dartmouth on Monday before starting preparations for their Big Ten opener at No. 6 Wisconsin on New Year's Eve.
Top Game Performances
| Drexel |
|
Penn St. |
|
Tavon Allen 15 |
Scoring |
D.J. Newbill 20 |
|
Damion Lee 3 |
Assists |
D.J. Newbill 4 |
|
Mohamed Bah 8 |
Rebounds |
Brandon Taylor 11 |
|
Damion Lee 5 |
Free Throws Made |
D.J. Newbill 9 |
|
Tavon Allen 1 |
Steals |
Geno Thorpe 2 |
|
Rodney Williams 1 |
Blocks |
Jordan Dickerson 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Drexel
|
68 |
40.0 |
8-26 |
12-19 |
9 |
33 |
1 |
6 |
10 |
| Penn St.
|
73 |
48.9 |
7-17 |
20-27 |
9 |
34 |
4 |
6 |
12 |
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