Dec. 20, 2014
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ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - 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.
The Nittany Lions (11-1) 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.
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 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.
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.