Men's Basketball Falls to Penn State at the Palestra on Saturday, 63-57

Saturday, December 19

The Palestra

7:00

Drexel University

1-8

Penn State

8-3

Penn State

DREXEL

Photo by: Ryan Samson

Men's Basketball Falls to Penn State at the Palestra on Saturday, 63-57

12/19/2015 8:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Drexel men's basketball held a 17-point lead in the first half, but Penn State battled back for the 63-57 win on Saturday night at the Palestra.

The Dragons jumped on the Nittany Lions from the opening tip. After a 9-0 run to start the game, Drexel took an 11-2 lead into the first media timeout. The Dragons grew their lead to as many as 17 at the 5:53 mark in the first half. Penn State chipped away, though, going on a 12-2 run over the final five-plus minutes to end the first, leaving Drexel with a 34-27 advantage at the half. Tavon Allen and Terrell Allen combined for 20 of the Dragons' 34 first half points.

Penn State continued to slowly chip into the Drexel lead in the second. It was a slugfest of a half with both teams playing physically. The Nittany Lions' physical brand of defense held the Dragons to 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) shooting to close over the final 20 minutes. Penn State countered by shooting 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) in the second frame. Brandon Taylor's spin and drive from the left side gave Penn State its first lead of the game with 5:09 to go, 48-47. Kazembe Abif drew a tough matchup against Taylor all night, and held him to 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting and six rebounds. Taylor came in averaging a team-leading 16.1 points per game.

The Lions would grow their lead to six before a Te. Allen three cut it to three with just over three minutes to play. Penn State responded, though, and built its lead back up to seven and never looked back, ultimately taking the game, 63-57.

Payton Banks and Shep Garner were clutch down the stretch, scoring 14 of Penn State's final 15 points in the last 4:45. Banks finished with a game-high 20 points, and Garner tallied 11 points. Josh Reaves, who had a dunk early in the second half that got the Penn State fans in it, finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Te. Allen led the way for Drexel with 18 points, while Ta. Allen was the only other Dragon in double digits with 16. Sammy Mojica, Rashann London and Abif all had six apiece.

After both teams were virtually even in rebounding in the first half (19-18), Penn State outrebounded the Dragons 21-14 in the second. It was Penn State, though, that was able to take advantage of the offensive rebounds, turning its 13 offensive boards into 21 second chance points. Drexel turned its 10 offensive boards into six points. The Nittany Lions also outscored the Dragons 32-14 in the paint.

Drexel (1-8) returns home on Tuesday to host Penn at the Daskalakis Athletic Center at 7 p.m. for the Battle of 33rd Street.