Dragons' Comeback Bid Falls Short Wednesday at Penn, 75-67

Wednesday, December 28

Palestra

4:00

Drexel University

6-7

Penn

5-5

Drexel

Penn

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Dragons' Comeback Bid Falls Short Wednesday at Penn, 75-67

12/28/2016 6:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA -- The Drexel men's basketball team's second-half comeback fell short Wednesday evening at the Palestra as Penn held on for the 75-67 win. With the loss, the Dragons close non-conference play with a 6-7 record.

After trailing by four points at halftime, Drexel whittled the Quakers' lead down 44-43 at the 15:03 mark of the second half. Penn (5-5) would respond to pressure from the Dragons and rattled off a 16-4 run to push its lead 60-47 at 9:51. Drexel chipped into the itself, taking the 13-point deficit down to two on a Miles Overton three with just over five and a half to play. The Dragons would force a Penn turnover on the next possession with a Rodney Williams steal at the top of the key, but the Drexel big man would miss the contested lay-up in transition. The miss would give the ball right back to Quakers, and Matt Howard would slash through the lane for the lay-in.

Penn pushed the lead up to seven with 2:41 to play, but a long two from Kari Jonsson and another three from Overton would again cut the Penn lead to two, this time with 1:46 on the clock. The final of Overton's five treys would be the Dragons' final points, however. After the Dragons could not capitalize on a Penn turnover, a missed shot would give the ball back, and Jackson Donahue would find freshman big man A.J. Brodeur for the lay-in to take the wind out of the Drexel sails. Brodeur finished with a Penn-best 19 points to go along with six rebounds. Penn would connect its final four attempts from the free throw line to seal the 75-67 final score. Overton would finish with a career-high 19 points, including a career-best five makes from deep.

Penn knocked down seven three-pointers in the first half and took a 37-33 lead to intermission. The half was played at a much better pace than the second half, as neither team reached the bonus. The Quakers led by as many as nine points before Drexel chipped away at the lead despite committing 10 turnovers.

Rodney Williams added 14 points and three blocked shots. The senior was 5-for-12 from the floor. Austin Williams chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds. As a team, Drexel shot just 41 percent from the floor, while the Quakers made 47 percent of their shots. Darnell Foreman scored 12 points, while Matt Howard added 10 points despite being saddled with foul trouble.

Drexel (6-7) will play one final game in the 2016 calendar year when it begins Colonial Athletic Association play on New Year's Eve at James Madison at 2 p.m.