Penn State Edges Drexel at Wells Fargo

Saturday, December 21

Philadelphia, Pa.

12 p.m.

Drexel University

8-5,0-0CAA

Penn State

10-2,1-1Big Ten

Penn St.

Drexel

12/21/2024 3:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Drexel battled all afternoon but came up on the short end of a 75-64 decision at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon in South Philadelphia. The Dragons (8-5) trailed by just two with four minutes to play before the Nittany Lions (10-2) pulled away. Yame Butler led Drexel in the scoring column with a total of 16 points. Kevon Vanderhorst came off the bench to score a career-high 14 points.

Penn State extended its halftime lead to 13 five minutes into the second half before the Dragons started chipping away. Vanderhorst, who had all 14 of his point in the second half, scored five straight points to get the lead under 10. Drexel was able to get the lead down to two twice in the second half but was unable to tie it. With PSU up by six, Zach Hicks was called with a flagrant foul, sending Victor Panov to the line. The junior sank both and on the ensuing possession, Kobe MaGee fed Cole Hargrove who slammed a dunk over a defender to make it 62-60. That was as close as Drexel would get as the Nittany Lions countered with eight straight points on the way to their 10^th win of the season.

Drexel started the game out strong, making seven of its first eight shots. When Kobe MaGee drained a corner 3-pointer, Drexel had a 15-8 lead with 14:37 to play in the first half. Penn State answered with an 8-0 run and held Drexel without a point for more than five minutes as they took the lead for good.

One of the highlights for the Dragons in the first half came from an unlikely source. Villiam Garcia Adsten turned the ball over on an inbound pass but made up for it immediately with an impressive block on Yanic Konan Niederhauser on an attempted dunk well above the rim. On the next possession, the transfer from Pacific drained a 3-pointer as Drexel got within six points. Drexel went to the locker room thinking it was a six-point game, but a goaltending call was overturned, giving the Nittany Lions a 37-29 advantage.

Butler had another solid performance, making eight of his 15 shots, grabbing a season-high seven rebounds and handing out three assists. Vanderhorst, playing in just his third game of the year, was 4-for-6 shooting and had a pair of 3-pointers. Ralph Akuta, playing in his first game since Nov. 23, had three of the teams six blocked shots. The Dragons shot 46 percent from the floor but managed just 22 percent shooting from deep (5-for-23).

Penn State was limited to 43 percent and 21 percent from long range. However, the bigger Lions had 19 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second chance points. Konan Niederhauser led everyone with 18 points. Ace Baldwin had 15 points and six assists, while Nick Kern scored 13. Puff Johnson had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Dragons are off until after the new year. Drexel will open up CAA play. Conference play begins on Jan. 2 when the Dragons visit Campbell for the first time. It will be the first of three straight conference road games to start 2025.