Penn State Battles for 75-64 Win Over Drexel at Wells Fargo CenterPenn State Battles for 75-64 Win Over Drexel at Wells Fargo Center

Penn State Battles for 75-64 Win Over Drexel at Wells Fargo Center

Nittany Lions earn 10th win of the season

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men’s basketball team pulled away in the final minutes to pick up a gritty 75-64 road win against Drexel inside Wells Fargo Center Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia.

Strong defensive play and clutch baskets helped Penn State close the game out in the final minutes, as the Nittany Lions held off a Drexel rally that had the Dragons within two points with four minutes to play. Penn State closed the game on a 13-4 run en route to its 10th win of the season.

Yanic Konan Niederhauser led four Nittany Lions in double figures with 18 points and six rebounds. Ace Baldwin Jr. had 15 points and six assists, while Nick Kern Jr. had 13 points. Puff Johnson recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Zach Hicks finished with eight points, six rebounds and a career-best six assists.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Dragons were hot to start, making seven of their first eight shots of the game to put Penn State in an early 15-8 hole six minutes into the game.
  • The Nittany Lions started just 5-for-13 from the field before an 8-0 run fueled by six points from Nick Kern Jr. helped Penn State takes its first lead of the game at 16-15 with 10:04 left in the first half.
  • The run reached 13-2 just over a minute later as the score sat at 21-17 in favor of the Nittany Lions. Penn State’s lead reached as much as five at 6:44 before the Dragons were back within one at 26-25 with 5:49 left on the first-half clock.
  • Five points from Yanic Konan Niederhauser and strong defense helped Penn State respond with nine unanswered points over the next four-plus minutes as the Nittany Lions took their first double-digit lead following a pair of Puff Johnson free throws at 35-25. Penn State carried that momentum into halftime, controlling a 37-29 lead heading into the locker room.
  • Ace Baldwin Jr. nailed a corner 3-pointer to open the second half and Penn State’s lead sat at 47-38 just over four minutes into the stanza.
  • Five points from Puff Johnson fueled a 7-0 Nittany Lion run that was capped by a Konan Niederhauser layup as Penn State took its largest lead yet at 51-38 with 15:08 to play.
  • Drexel capitalized on a cold-shooting stretch for the Nittany Lions by putting together a 9-1 run that had the Dragons back within five at 52-47 with 12:25 left on the clock.
  • Baskets from Baldwin Jr. answered each Drexel bucket for the next few minutes until the Dragons were able to trim the Penn State edge all the way down to two at 58-56 on the back of five-straight points.
  • Freddie Dilione V and Kachi Nzeh tossed in back-to-back layups and the Penn State defense held Drexel scoreless for over four minutes to put the Nittany Lions back up six at 62-56 with four and a half minutes to play.
  • The Dragons capitalized on a Penn State flagrant foul with a pair of free throws and dunk on the ensuing possession to pull back within two at 62-60.
  • Penn State responded with an 8-0 run that would prove to put the game away. The first four points came from the free throw line and were followed by Konan Niederhauser and Kern Jr. layups as Penn State’s lead went back to 10 at 70-60 with 2:02 to play.
  • The Dragons made a pair of free throws but Zach Hicks nailed a dagger of a triple from the top of the key at the 1:22 mark to put the score at 73-62.

GAME NOTES

  • The Nittany Lions improve to 10-2 on the season, Penn State’s best record through 12 games since 2019-20.
  • Penn State is now 7-0 all-time vs. Drexel.
  • The Nittany Lions owned a 46-26 edge in points in the paint.
  • Konan Niederhauser tallied his ninth double-digit scoring game of the season and led Penn State in scoring for the fourth time this season with his 18 points.
  • Puff Johnson pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds and notched his first-career double-double.
  • Nick Kern Jr. scored in double figures for the ninth-straight game and was a team-best +15.
  • Zach Hicks dished a career-best six assists to go along with eight point and six rebounds.

UP NEXT

  • The Nittany Lions will take a brief break for the holidays before returning to action on Sunday, Dec. 29 when Penn State hosts Penn in the non-conference finale at 1 p.m. inside the Bryce Jordan Center.

The 2024-25 Penn State men’s basketball season is presented by Highmark Health.