PHILADELPHIA - The Penn State men's basketball team utilized a 10-point second half advantage to defeat Drexel, 68-57, on Monday night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in the squad’s final exhibition contest of the 2026-27 season.
The Nittany Lions outscored the Dragons by a 37-27 margin in the second stanza to close out the contest after a hotly contested opening 20 minutes. Penn State did not allow a field goal for over seven minutes late in the second half in an impressive defensive display on the road in front of a lively crowd.
The Blue & White defense held the Dragons to a meager 32% (18-of-57) from the field and 21% (6-of-28) from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions forced 12 turnovers, which led to 17 points on the other end. Graduate guard Thomas Allard recorded three steals with forward François Wibaut and junior guard Robert Blums tallying two swipes each.
Allard would finish the game with a team-high four assists in addition to bringing down four rebounds, two points and Penn State’s only blocked shot.
Sophomore forward Ivan Jurić led all scorers with 17 points, including an 11-for-14 performance from the free throw line to go along with five rebounds down low.
Graduate forward Josh Reed finished second on the team with 15 points, including a team-best 11 in the second half. Reed tacked on six boards and two assists.
Graduate guard Dasonte Bowen rounded out the Nittany Lions in double figures with 12 points while making six of his eight attempts from the charity stripe. He led PSU with seven rebounds while dishing out two assists.
The Nittany Lions and Dragons played a back-and-forth first half that featured seven lead changes before a buzzer beating layup from Bowen pushed Penn State ahead by a 31-30 margin heading into the locker room. PSU trailed by as much as six with 5:30 to go in the half before doubling up Drexel for the final five minutes and change with a 14-7 run to take the lead.
The Blue & White found themselves down by five just over five minutes into the second half before going on an 11-0 run to retake a lead they would not concede for the rest of the night. Wibaut began the run with a layup and closed it with a 3-pointer.
Two free throws by senior guard Jay Rodgers and buckets by junior guard Robert Blums and redshirt junior guard/forward Brant Byers were in the middle of what would ultimately prove to be a game-changing four-minute stretch.
Drexel would nearly tie the game, reaching as close as a two-point deficit with 8:11 to play before Reed went on a personal 5-0 run that held the Dragons at bay. The Nittany Lions quickly increased the lead to double digits with 3:54 to go and did not look back.
Penn State held the Dragons to just eight points in the final 8:11 and forced five turnovers in that span.
POST GAME NOTES
- Penn State is now 8-0 all-time vs. Drexel and 4-0 when visiting the Dragons.
- Monday wrapped up PSU’s preseason schedule, which featured a pair of victories in exhibition play over Drexel and St. Bonaventure on the road.
- PSU’s second-half defense led to the pair of wins as the Nittany Lions held the opposition to 26 percent from the floor during the final 20 minutes of both contests.
- The Nittany Lions scored 68 points in each of their two exhibition victories.
- Penn State held both opponents under 70 points, surrendering an average of 61.0 points per contest.
- Penn State outrebounded both exhibition opponents, holding a 36-30 advantage against St. Bonaventure and a 37-36 edge against Drexel.
- Juric scored 27 points across the two exhibition contests, averaging 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
- Reed scored a team-high 33 points across the two exhibition victories, averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
- Blums totaled 22 points across the two exhibition victories, highlighted by a 17-point performance against St. Bonaventure.
UP NEXT
Penn State opens the 2026-27 regular season at home on Monday, Nov. 2 by welcoming Canisius to the Bryce Jordan Center at 7:30 p.m.
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