PHILADELPHIA — Yanic Konan Niederhauser scored 18 points, Ace Baldwin Jr. had 15 points and six assists and Penn State defeated Drexel, 75-64, on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center.
Penn State led 51-38 with 15 minutes left in regulation before Drexel went on an extended rally to get within 58-56 with 8 1/2 minutes remaining. Drexel’s Kevon Vanderhorst hit two 3-pointers and scored 10 points in that stretch.
A dunk by Cole Hargrove had Drexel within two points again, 62-60, with 4 minutes remaining, but Konan Niederhauser scored four points in an 8-0 run that put the Nittany Lions up by 10 with 2 minutes to go.
Puff Johnson had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Penn State, and Nick Kern Jr. added 13 points off the bench.
Yame Butler led Drexel with 16 points, and Vanderhorst added 14 points off the bench.
The Dragons jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes before Kern scored six points in an 8-0 run that gave the Nittany Lions the lead. Another minute later, Penn State went ahead for good on a jumper by Konan Niederhauser that was followed by Zach Hicks’ three-point play.
At 10-2, Penn State is off to its best start through 12 games since 2019-20, and the Nittany Lions improved to 8-0 all-time against Drexel (8-5).
The game was played at the home of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. The Nittany Lions will return to Philadelphia on Jan. 5 to host Indiana at the historic Palestra. Before that, Penn State hosts Penn on Dec. 29 and Northwestern on Jan. 2.
