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Penn State men improve to 11-1

ALLENTOWN – D.J. Newbill scored 20 points, Brandon Taylor had 14 and 11 rebounds and Penn State won its ninth-straight game 73-68 over Drexel on Saturday at the PPL Center.

Penn?State, at 11-1, will go for win No. 12 on Monday at home against Dartmouth.

“I thought we played 25-28 minutes of Penn State basketball,” Penn?State coach Patrick Chambers said. “I thought Drexel did a really good job, give them a lot of credit. They went after us and forced some turnovers there in the last 6-7 minutes. I felt like we cleaned that up over the last couple months, meaning passes, being solid with the ball, getting the ball up the floor, and we didn’t do it. It showed Drexel’s quickness and toughness.”

The Nittany Lions made 7 of 8 free throws in the final minute to hold off the Dragons (2-8), who lost their fourth straight.

Tavon Allen had 15 points for Drexel with Sammy Mojica adding 14 off the bench, Damion Lee getting 13 and Mohamed Bah 10.

“I tell you what, we did a really good job on [Damion] Lee for most of the game. They’re harder to guard when Sammy makes a couple threes or Allen makes a couple threes, it’s a little bit different,” Chambers said. “They made some NBA threes, they hit some big shots to get back into the game. Again, they have a lot of fight, which doesn’t surprise me, they’re a lot like their head coach. Our defense is coming together. We had some lapses and they exposed those lapses, but for the most part, there’s a lot of positives I can take from the defensive effort.

Penn State led 58-38 on a Newbill jumper with 7:23 left before Drexel made a final run. Allen hit the first of two straight 3-pointers at 6:58 and Freddie Wilson followed with a third to fuel a 15-0 run that cut it to 58-53 with 4:13 left.

Newbill hit two free throws, Donovon Jack had a tip-in and the Dragons never got closer until a 3 by Rashann London with 1 second left.

Drexel trailed 20-19 after a Bah jumper with 6:48 to go in the first half but Brandon Taylor and Shep Garner knocked down consecutive 3-pointers and after a Drexel basket, Taylor and D.J. Newbill scored for a 30-21 lead 4:53 before halftime.

The Nittany Lions led 36-28 at the break.

The Dragons got within five, 40-35, early in the second half before a Newbill layup and four free throws pushed Penn State ahead, 46-35. That was the start of a 14-1 run that gave Penn State a 55-36 lead with nine minutes left.

“We were focusing on preparing ourselves for the Big Ten and we have to take care of the ball,” Chambers said. “It’s unfortunate, however, we were up 20 on what I think is a very good basketball team. I don’t think their record indicates that.”

Penn State finished 20 of 27 from the foul line to 12 of 19 for the Dragons, who shot 40 percent from the field while the Nittany Lions were at 49 percent. The rebounding battle was even but Drexel had an 11-5 advantage in offensive boards.

“I thought Ross Travis did a good job, though he got in foul trouble, Geno Thorpe did a good job, but he got in foul trouble, Peyton Banks did a good job. We threw four or five guys at for a couple possessions trying to wear him down,” Chambers said.

DREXEL (2-8): Bah 5-8 0-0 10, R. Williams 0-4 1-2 1, Allen 5-10 2-2 15, London 3-7 0-0 6, Lee 3-15 5-6 13, Wilson 1-4 1-2 4, Mojica 5-10 2-5 14, Myles 2-2 1-2 5. Totals 24-60 12-19 68.

PENN STATE (11-1): Taylor 5-13 0-0 14, Travis 2-6 1-2 5, Dickerson 2-3 0-0 4, Newbill 5-7 9-12 20, Garner 2-5 3-4 8, Banks 2-2 2-3 7, Johnson 1-3 1-2 3, Jack 3-5 2-2 8, Thorpe 1-3 2-2 4, Moore 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-47 20-27 73.

Halftime-Penn St. 36-28. 3-Point Goals-Drexel 8-26 (Allen 3-4, Mojica 2-5, Lee 2-12, Wilson 1-3, London 0-2), Penn St. 7-17 (Taylor 4-9, Banks 1-1, Newbill 1-1, Garner 1-2, Travis 0-1, Thorpe 0-1, Johnson 0-2). Fouled Out-Jack, Mojica, Myles. Rebounds-Drexel 34 (Bah, R. Williams 8), Penn St. 34 (Taylor 11). Assists-Drexel 9 (Lee 3), Penn St. 9 (Newbill 4). Total Fouls-Drexel 25, Penn St. 22. Technicals-Mojica, Johnson. A-Not listed

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